1960s Quote by John F. Kennedy

“[Public] libraries should be open to all—except the censor. [Response to questionnaire in Saturday Review, October 29 1960] ”

— John F. Kennedy

Libraries should be open to all - except the censor.

— John F. Kennedy

What is also strange to me is that public libraries have always been in the forefront of opposing censorship.

— Matthew Lesko

“The only way to make a library safe is to lock people out of it. As long as they are allowed to read the…

— Anonymous

Libraries are what is best about us as a society: open, exciting, rich, informative, free, inclusive, engaging.

— Susan Orlean

The Library is an open sanctuary. It is devoted to individual intellectual inquiry and contemplation. Its function is to provide free access to ideas…

— Robert G. Vosper

“If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas…

— John F. Kennedy

“A good library’s existence is a potential step forward for a community. If hate and fear have ignorance at their core, maybe the library…

— Josh Hanagarne

The only thing I like about libraries is that people are encouraged to shut up.

— Nikhil Saluja

“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the…

— Judy Blume

It's funny that we think of libraries as quiet demure places where we are shushed by dusty, bun-balancing, bespectacled women. The truth is libraries…

— Paula Poundstone

Libraries do one thing that no other institution does and that's provide access to all.

— LeVar Burton