Statement on Potentially Objectionable Collection Material

The University of Michigan Library provides an enduring collection to serve research and teaching at the university and to support scholarship in Michigan and throughout the world. We collect broadly and deeply, including works that some might find uncomfortable. We do not remove collection material merely because someone finds it objectionable. 

In selecting material for the collection, we are guided by our collecting statements, as well as the following library and university policies and our Senate Assembly’s commitments to academic freedom.

U-M Library Mission and Values
“Our mission is to support, enhance, and collaborate in the instructional, research, and service activities of faculty, students, and staff, and contribute to the common good by collecting, organizing, preserving, communicating, sharing, and creating the record of human knowledge.”

Freedom of Speech and Artistic Expression Policy University’s Standard Practice Guide 601.01
“Expression of diverse points of view is of the highest importance, not only for those who espouse a cause or position and then defend it, but also for those who hear and pass judgment on that defense. The belief that an opinion is pernicious, false, or in any other way detestable cannot be grounds for its suppression.”

U-M Principles on Diversity of Thought and Freedom of Expression
“We recognize that free inquiry and expression can offend. Every member of our academic community should expect to confront ideas that differ from their own, however uncomfortable those encounters may be.”

Senate Assembly Statement on Academic Freedom
“Faculty members must enjoy the fullest possible freedom in their research.”