Libraries, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
2026 marks the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding.
What began in 1776 as an audacious experiment launched by leaders of 13 colonies with a combined population of 2.5 million has grown into a nation of 50 states, the District of Columbia and territories with more than 300 million people. Over the centuries, people immigrated to this country from all points of the globe in pursuit of personal freedom, to escape persecution and achieve a better quality of life they could not access in their home countries.
From the very beginning, libraries have been part of America’s “experiment”—doggedly supporting intellectual freedom, accepting people as they are and offering spaces filled with books and possibilities to anyone who calls America home.
In today’s fast-paced, interconnected world, communication is instantaneous, distinctions between fact and opinion are often blurred, and narratives are increasingly shaped by those in power. By contrast, libraries protect the collective narrative.
Libraries reveal life as it is lived—by people both ordinary and extraordinary—and commit to preserving the inconvenient truths that accompany growth and progress. By their very purpose, libraries assert the sanctity of the human spirit and the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Their presence in cities and rural towns across the United States is integral to creating an informed citizenry, where the voices of the powerful and powerless blend in service to a just and representative government. To strive for anything less is to diminish the bold and fearless ambition of our founders—while not perfect yet nonetheless dedicated to the ideals of equality we, as a nation, still hope to achieve.
Arlington Public Library will mark this milestone with a yearlong celebration featuring a community read, author talks, HistoryFest 250 in partnership with Arlington Historical Society in May, a summer festival in July, an oral history project and more.
The Library's Arlington 250 programming is made possible by the generosity of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.
As we reflect on this significant historic milestone event, we invite everyone to take part and lend your voices and your wisdom as we consider where we have been as a community, a nation, a world—and where we are going. And as with all journeys, the destination is secondary to the journey itself.
Thank you for being part of our journey to be the best we can be for the community of Arlington we are proud and privileged to call “home.”
Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library