At the conclusion of one of the most divisive elections in recent US history—and at a time when the results of that election have left many members of marginalized communities angry, scared, and vulnerable—the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) proudly reaffirms its longstanding commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice.
As social institutions, research libraries strive to be welcoming havens for all members of our communities, and ARL libraries will not deny service to anyone based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, national or ethnic origin, or citizenship status. While ARL libraries and archives work hard to be inclusive in their hiring, collections, services, and environments, the Association and its members will not claim neutrality in the face of discrimination, sexism, ableism, racism, homophobia, religious persecution, or other forms of oppression. We support freedom of speech and the open exchange of ideas and opinions, but we will not tolerate hate speech, silencing, inflammatory rhetoric, or any other speech or action that threatens the safety or dignity of any member of our community.
The Association of Research Libraries will continue to advocate for policies, laws, and practices that champion intellectual freedom, privacy, confidentiality, rigorous research, and equitable access to information. ARL and its members will also redouble efforts to promote diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice in and through research libraries and archives. Now more than ever, it is critical that libraries and archives ensure open and equitable access to credible sources of news, data, and knowledge, and provide the expertise, services, collections, tools, and spaces that will help all community members critically assess the information they encounter.
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries in the US and Canada. ARL’s mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
