This I believe.
I believe in the power of stories to preserve who we are and to shape who we might become. From my earliest years, I have been drawn to books, comics, and archives, not just for the escape they offered, but for the traces of people and communities they carried within them. Stories are more than entertainment. They hold memory, meaning, and history, and they remind us that our experiences matter, even when they feel small or overlooked. My core value is preservation, of culture, memory, and voices that might otherwise disappear.
Preservation and accessibility has guided my life in subtle ways. I have always felt pulled to protect the fragile things, whether it was saving my family’s worn scrapbooks or making space for voices that were often ignored. In my work at the library, I see this same drive reflected in the mission of librarianship, to safeguard the materials entrusted to us and to ensure they remain accessible to future generations. For me, this is not an abstract principle. It is a daily practice of care, a way of showing that every person’s story deserves to endure.
This belief aligns closely with the ALA Core Value of Preservation, which emphasizes the stewardship of cultural memory. Libraries are living institutions, not static vaults, and preservation is an act of service to both the past and the future. It ensures that marginalized voices are not lost and that communities can return to their own histories for strength, identity, and belonging. When I handle a brittle newspaper clipping or a fading yearbook, I am reminded of how fragile memory can be, and how vital it is that professionals commit to preserving it.
Another core value I hold is access. Knowledge is only meaningful when people can reach it. As the ALA Core Values note, access is a central principle of librarianship, rooted in the belief that all information resources provided by libraries should be readily, equally, and equitably accessible to all library users. I believe that preservation and access are inseparable. To preserve without providing access is to lock memory away, and to provide access without preserving is to risk losing the very resources people rely on. Together, these values shape my personal and professional philosophy: protect memory, and make sure everyone has the opportunity to connect with it.
This I believe, that the work of librarianship is a promise. It is a promise that stories will not be forgotten, that knowledge will not be hoarded, and that every person will find a place for their voice in the record of human experience.