Mission Statement

Memorial Hall Library provides free and equitable access to resources, staff, and spaces in a welcoming environment where all can connect to each other and to the world. 

Vision Statement

Memorial Hall Library aspires to be an active community partner that fosters a thirst for knowledge, creativity, resilience, civic engagement and community connection in a just, equitable, sustainable and evolving world.

Core Value Statements

Equality

MHL strives to provide free and fair access by actively working to make our collections, programs, policies, virtual and physical spaces welcoming and accessible to all people regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, income, or disability status. Read our full statement on Inclusivity at MHL here. 

Respect

MHL staff strives to respect all people and their privacy, our institutional history, and the materials, space and funds entrusted to us.

Joy

MHL seeks to cultivate and celebrate the joy of reading and learning. 

Community

MHL supports a culture of community and belonging for our staff and our community at all stages of their lives.

Intellectual Freedom

MHL supports and upholds the rights of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Sustainability

MHL considers our role in and response to the ongoing climate crisis in an attempt to invest in the future of the community. We embrace our location in the Merrimack Valley and consider its fragile natural resources to be an essential lens for collections and programming.

Democracy

MHL supports the free exchange of ideas and information, which is essential to the function of American democracy. We provide opportunities for all patrons to learn about the functions of government, the importance of free and fair elections, and the preservation of democratic institutions.

Approved by the Memorial Hall Library Board of Trustees on May 11, 2022