This I Believe

Although I am driven by many values and ideals, two that stand out most are passion and freedom. Most of what I do seem to tie back to these guiding values. Passion and freedom go hand in hand with each other, and line up perfectly with the overarching values in the library profession.

I have always been a romantic. I love stories about falling in love and doing grand gestures for a soulmate. Passion, however, extends beyond romance; it involves following one’s heart in terms of interests, career goals, and life dreams. Some of the hardest decisions involve risking everything for a chance at a goal or dream. I tend to avoid risk, but I also believe strongly in the importance of going after a passion – even if it is riskier than a safer professional or personal interest – because a fulfilled passion has the power to make you happy beyond anything else. Growing up, I developed a lot of passions on many levels – interest in various topics, the goal to be a librarian, and dreams of falling in love. I am happy to say I have pursued my passions more often than not, even if they were not the most obvious and straightforward choices, and I have never regretted it. I believe that denying your passions leads to regret, even if you’re living society’s version of the dream. It is more important to follow your own heart and achieve your own dreams.

Freedom is also important to me; without freedom, passion has nowhere to go. As a researcher and lover of history, I have seen how people have fought for freedom through every century, and the fight continues. Fortunately, we have come a long way in terms of physical freedom, but it extends beyond that, to the freedom to make decisions, learn, and act. As human beings, freedom is important to facilitate physical and mental growth, and give our lives purpose. If we have no control over our own lives, there is no point to living – we might as well be robots. I believe that freedom is key to humanity and should be a right for everyone, and I work to avoid doing or saying anything that limits people’s freedom.

One of the main values in librarianship is intellectual freedom (American Library Association, 2010). There are several documents upheld by libraries in support of intellectual freedom – the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction (American Library Association, 2007). Libraries work to prevent censorship to ensure patrons have the freedom to view, read, and listen to all materials. This correlates with both of my values, as intellectual freedom allows people the freedom to think for themselves and carry out their passions by providing the means for research and learning that satisfies curiosity, facilitates career exploration, and guides dreams. With this in mind, working in the library profession enables me to uphold my personal values through my career.

References

American Library Association. (2010). B.1 Core values, ethics, and core competencies (Old number 40). In ALA Policy Manual. http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section2/40corevalues.

American Library Association. (2007). Intellectual freedom and censorship Q & A. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/censorship/faq.