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6 The Art of Communication Look at the elements that combine to make you who you are. Although they are your core, consider if there are any among them that you would like to change. Some can be changed some cannot. In either case, to be a successful communicator, you need to understand and accept the person you are. Everything starts with you. VALUES STATEMENT In discovering who you are, you identified your personal core values. Sim- ilarly, you should recognize and know who you are as a librarian. Written as a statement, it is your philosophy, the foundation that guides your prac- tice. It sums up your beliefs and attitudes. If you are a public librarian there may be a Values Statement in place. In a school library, it will be up to you to develop one. In either situation, it is important to know your personal values of librarianship. It is reflected in the way you communicate when in your library environment and often spills out into the community when you go beyond your four walls. The American Library Association (ALA) has identified 12 Core Values of Librarianship.2 These are drawn from ALA’s the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, and others. They provide a good starting point for determining what you want to include in your Values Statement. You need not choose all of them, but do note how the following communi- cate the most basic of all messages you want to send—the library is a safe, welcoming space where all belong. Access In insuring access to and for all, you must look at all possible barriers. Can those with limited or no sight use the library easily? Do fines and costs for lost books make users reluctant to borrow materials? Confidentiality/Privacy While this is directed toward not divulging borrowing data and personal identifiable information, it also speaks to being someone who won’t share what someone else told you. Students and sometimes adults need informa- tion and in order to ask for it must reveal personal details.