Six blind men, each feeling a part of an elephant in order to learn about it, described it variously as like a wall, spear, tree, fan, and rope. But I do believe that much discussion is happening without full consideration of the role of the public library in Ameri- can society today. Candy Morgan American public libraries are usually designated by the policies of their own governing bodies to be places where the people served by the library gain access to ideas and information.
Public libraries are, in other words, designated public forums.
The public library is the only government agency in America with the prime mission to provide access to information to all individuals eligible for library service, regardless of income, age, or any other arbitrary distinction. It is the American public library that makes the promise of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution a realizable possibility. Freedom of speech does not exist if individuals are not free to choose and access all ideas and information they wish. Our political system and cultural life rest upon this ideal. Public libraries provide their users with freedom of choice by developing diverse collections of constitutionally protected speech.