CHECK OUT WHAT OBAMA SAYS ABOUT LIBRARIES

When Barack Obama was just beginning his road to the presidency, he was the keynote speaker at the American Library Association Conference in Chicago. The ALA magazine adapted his speech into an article. The speech drew an enormous crowd and garnered a standing ovation.

Here are my three favorite quotes from that article:

1. "But before our children can even walk into an interview for one of these jobs, before they can even fill out an application or earn the required college degree, they have to be able to pick up a book and read it and understand it. Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible, from complex word problems and the meaning of our history to scientific discovery and technological proficiency. And by the way, it's what's required to make us true citizens."

2. "It's a hope that's old as the American story itself. From the moment the first immigrants arrived on these shores, generations of parents worked hard and sacrificed whatever was necessary so that their children could not just have the same chances they had, but could have the chances they never had. Because while we can never assure that our children will be rich or successful, while we can never be positive that they will do better than their parents, America is about making it possible to give them the chance, to give every child the ability to try. Education is the foundation of this opportunity. The most basic building block that holds that foundation together is the Word. "In the beginning was the Word."

3. "What some people may not remember is that for years, librarians have been on the frontlines of this fight for our privacy and our freedom. There have always been dark times in our history where America has strayed from our best ideas. The question has always been: Who will be there to stand up against those forces? One of the groups that has consistently stood up has been librarians."

CITATION: American Libraries(CB). American Libraries (Volume 36, Issue 7, August 2005).