[Publib] Books Selections - The Higher Power of Lucky

[Dale McNeill]

Hello Beth--

As others have noted, once a book (or other work) is published, generally
the decision about whether it will be in a particular library or library
system is a "local" one.  Just to think about public libraries, though, it's
helpful to remember that "local" might have different meanings in different
places.

For example, the state of Hawai'i (if I recall correctly) has only one
public library system.  So, a "local" decision in Hawai'i might be
statewide.  Other states (Oklahoma comes to mind) have multi-county library
districts.  So, again, a "local" decision by a multi-county library might
not seem all that local.  And to use Texas as an example, someone living in
suburban Houston might be in easy driving distance of a Houston Public
Library, a Harris County Public Library, and a library operated by a small
city (say, Bellaire).  In this case, the "local" decision is one made by
each of these libraries.  I can remember how differently those libraries
handled a certain book by Madonna.

I think you would enjoy doing some research on the funding of public
libraries, which is really at the heart of your question.

And, of course, there have been some famous obscenity trials aimed at
"banning" a book nation-wide, generally by preventing its importation
(though not recently, to my knowledge).

Regards,

Dale

candidate for ALA Council

On 3/2/07, BETH ANN MARTINEZ <b.martinez at snet.net> wrote:
>
> I am a student in an MLS program and there has been quite a bit of
> discussion in one of my classes about Susan Patron's book, *The Higher
> Power of Lucky.*  All the talk has me thinking about how book selections,
> especially for controversial books, are made.  Can this book be "banned"
> universally or are book decisions made on a library by library basis?
>
> Thanks,
> Beth Martinez
>
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