How Libraries Support Your Right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

The Founding Fathers had a clear, succinct vision for this country, and they named it in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” While this isn’t a legally binding document, many constitutional scholars believe it informed the work of developing the actual US Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The Constitution and its Bill of Rights are a legal means of ensuring those rights for all Americans. Together, these foundational documents name those rights (the Declaration of Independence) and provide a legal framework for protecting those rights (the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights). In particular, the Bill of Rights details how the rights of Americans should be accorded by the government. Those rights include the freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition.

Rights Under Attack

Unfortunately, today there’s a movement to restrict or do away with many, if not all, of the rights pertaining to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The current administration and its followers are actively working to erode various rights that contribute to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, including the freedom of speech, freedom of religion (or no religion), and freedom of the press. Immigrants who are here legally have been detained for speaking against what the Trump administration is doing, and the White House has tried to restrict which press outlets are allowed into press conferences.

Even more alarming is the current administration’s work to eradicate birthright citizenship, the concept that says someone born in the US is automatically a US citizen. This could seriously disrupt and devastate the lives of thousands of people who have legally lived their entire lives as US citizens with no other home country. It’s hard to imagine efforts like these having anything but dire consequences for people trying to live a life of their choice with liberty and the ability to pursue happiness as they define it.

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The Role of Libraries

As always, libraries are clear-eyed and resourceful defenders of these rights. In 2024, the American Library Association updated its core values statement to focus on issues of access, equity, intellectual freedom and privacy, and the public good, among others—before Trump was elected back into office. These are wide-ranging concepts, and several of them have specifics that directly address liberty and the pursuit of happiness:

Access

Libraries provide opportunities for everyone—every single person—in a community to have access to library resources and services with as little disruption as possible. That means everything from borrowing books, videos, and music at no cost to having access to technology they may not have at home to being eligible to attend programming and events on a vast array of topics, whether English as a second language, cooking, history, arts and crafts, job searching support, or legal workshops.

Equity

All library patrons should be able to access their local library’s resources and services, regardless of age, gender and sexual identification, disability status, race, or religious beliefs.

Intellectual Freedom and Privacy

Library patrons should have access to information from diverse viewpoints without censorship or limitations, and they should be able to do so without being surveilled or monitored.

Public Good

This focuses on improving society while protecting individual rights to education, literacy, and intellectual freedom. Library workers strive to provide the means necessary to help patrons become informed, connected, educated, and empowered.

Send an email to your Representatives to show your support for libraries!

What Libraries Do

It would be impossible to list every method libraries use to promote the rights of their patrons; the list would be too long, and because libraries reflect the communities in which they exist, the offerings vary depending on the needs of those communities.

In general, here are some ways libraries work to help preserve their patrons’ rights. The easiest example is that libraries provide wide access to written materials so patrons can educate and inform themselves at no cost. An informed citizenry tends to be at odds with censorship and the reduction of individual rights. Here are a few other services libraries support:

• Citizenship Assistance. Many libraries provide resources on the sometimes bewildering process of applying for US citizenship. Some offer classes or mentoring to help immigrants learn what’s required and how to successfully manage the process.
• Language Education. This can work in more than one way. Immigrants who need help learning English can often find assistance at the library, but in the “pursuit of happiness” department, US English speakers can often find resources to learn other languages too, whether for work, travel, or to be able to communicate effectively with others in their community.
• Literacy. This goes beyond basic language education. Libraries work to help patrons become able to read and write, yes, but there are different kinds of literacy, and they’re often intertwined. For example, financial literacy is an important skill that some people haven’t had access to, which can help them learn how to manage their income and expenses. Medical literacy helps people understand what they need to do to become and remain healthy. Reading and writing are just one part of literacy.

These are likely resources that the current administration would like to restrict or eradicate altogether. Protecting your libraries—and your right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—has never been more important than it is right now. Take a moment to send an email to Congress to show your support for libraries and sign the petition to stop Project 2025.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries. 

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