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Memorial Library Staff Information

Memorial Library Mission & Goals

Memorial Library Mission Statement

Memorial Library's primary purpose is to support the mission of Berry College by providing the necessary information resources and services essential for excellence in teaching, learning, research and scholarship. As an integral part of the academic fabric of the college, the Library facilitates scholarly access to collections of local and global information resources selects, maintains and organizes theses resources for ease of use by all members of the college community; and provides instruction in the effective use of these resources. Memorial Library strives to uphold the principles of academic freedom and encourages/fosters cultural diversity, creative expression, intellectual growth and a respect for the dialogue generated by differing points of view. 


Statement of Goals 

  1. Meet the information needs of our users and actively promote the advancement of scholarly research and higher learning.
  2. Work cooperatively with other libraries to meet the needs of our users and, whenever possible, share resources to achieve this end.
  3. Collaborate with the faculty to provide and instructional services program integrated into the curriculum that enables students to become lifelong, critical consumers of information resources.
  4. Promote intellectual freedom, ethical use of information, patron privacy and unrestricted access to available resources.
  5. Champion the student work program through comprehensive supervision and mentor-ship for library student workers, and in support of the college's philosophy of "dignity of worthwhile work well done."
  6. Cultivate a physical environment that is welcoming, conducive to learning and social interaction and responsive to the changing needs of the students and the college.
  7. Develop and maintain a collection that, regardless of format, advocates human diversity and reflect the myriad of world views expresses therein. 

American Library Association Code of Ethics

In a political system grounded in an informed citizenry, we are members of a profession explicitly committed to intellectual freedom and the freedom of access to information. We have a special obligation to ensure the free flow of information and ideas to present and future generations.

  1. We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests.
  2. We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.
  3. We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.
  4. We respect intellectual property rights and advocate balance between the interests of information users and rights holders.
  5. We treat co-workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness, and good faith, and advocate conditions of employment that safeguard the rights and welfare of all employees of our institutions.
  6. We do not advance private interests at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employing institutions.
  7. We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.
  8. We strive for excellence in the profession by maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and skills, by encouraging the professional development of co-workers, and by fostering the aspirations of potential members of the profession.
  9. We affirm the inherent dignity and rights of every person. We work to recognize and dismantle systemic and individual biases; to confront inequity and oppression; to enhance diversity and inclusion; and to advance racial and social justice in our libraries, communities, profession, and associations through awareness, advocacy, education, collaboration, services, and allocation of resources and spaces.

Library Bill of Rights

I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

VI. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

VII. All people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries should advocate for, educate about, and protect people’s privacy, safeguarding all library use data, including personally identifiable information.

Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; January 29, 2019.

Freedom to Read Statement

The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries. These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. -- Adopted June 25, 1953, by the American Library Association and the American Association of Publishers