[Publib] Assault on Reason?/Censorship

Mon Sep 29 21:05:19 EDT 2008

Dale,

Thank you for the kind words...of course I wasn't even thinking about special collections. All very good points and of course, if you do have an unusually large boating collection, it's because you live in a community that's heavily involved in boats and boating! 

It would probably be frowned upon here in the desert! :-)

Lisë Chlebanowski
Library Manager
Sam Garcia Western Avenue Library
495 E. Western Ave.
Avondale, AZ   85323
623-333-2611 D
623-333-0260 F
lchlebanowski at avondale.org <mailto:lchlebanowski at avondale.org> 

Now Reading: Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin
Now Listening: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

________________________________

From: Dale McNeill [mailto:dale.mcneill at gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 6:00 PM
To: Lise Chlebanowski; publib
Subject: Re: [Publib] Assault on Reason?/Censorship

While I in no way disagree with the always wise Lise's comment, I would like to add a bit to it....

I don't think there's anything wrong with a library making a conscious decision to collect deeply in a particular area.  This area will likely overlap with the expertise of staff--if it doesn't now, the right staff should be hired.  But the decision should be made in the appropriate way for that community (which might mean the director, the board, elected officials, etc.).

Of course, many libraries have great collections of local history, but here are a few others I've known about or worked with:

a rural library in Oklahoma collected very deeply in 20th century painting; this was a decision of the board and was based on the idea that most people in the community could not afford art books.  While the collection didn't circulate a lot, it was VERY well used (I was a page in that library);

a branch library in Texas developed a very deep collection of, are you ready, knitting; this was a decision made by the branch manager, with the president of the friends of the library and approval from the library director.  It responded to several knitting groups that met at the library and a general interest in knitting in that neighborhood.  (The manager didn't knit!);

and so on.

The point is that collections should be developed *by* librarians (and other library staff) *for* the community, not *for* the librarians.  

And those collections may easily change over time.  Another library in Oklahoma (years ago) developed a very deep collection related to Vietnam, when many refugees from Vietnam settled in the town.  This was in the 1980s.  The last time I visited that library, which still has many residents from Vietnam, that collection was much smaller, most likely because there was no longer the same kind of interest in the community.

And my last example, when I managed a very small branch in the Houston area, I developed a fairly large collection of books on Judaism (Happy New Year, by the way).  I'm not Jewish.  And few of our customers were Jewish.  However, there was great interest in Judaism among the many African-American preachers in the community.  They asked me for Torah commentaries, for instructions on managing a kosher home, and for many similar books. I would guess there were 50 books of Judaism (out of less than 20,000 total, 50 books on one topic is a lot).  But these books were very heavily used and answered an information need.

Again, I completely agree that we shouldn't develop collections for ourselves.  But I've often wondered what the manager who followed me thought about the collection in that branch.

Warm regards,

Dale

On Mon, Sep 29, 2008 at 7:01 PM, Lise Chlebanowski <lchlebanowski at avondale.org> wrote:

	There are many stories like this in library-world. The collection development head that was a boating enthusiast and his library that had more boating books than any other is one that comes to my mind. Whether you slant your collection in favor of a particular religion or a craft like knitting, it is still resulting in an unbalanced collection and a professional librarian should do their best to rise above that. If you want the best boating collection you can have it in your home library! 

	Lisë Chlebanowski
	Library Manager
	Sam Garcia Western Avenue Library
	495 E. Western Ave.
	Avondale, AZ   85323
	623-333-2611 D
	623-333-0260 F
	lchlebanowski at avondale.org <mailto:lchlebanowski at avondale.org> 

	Now Reading: Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin
	Now Listening: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

________________________________

	From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Paula Laurita
	Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 2:30 PM
	To: 'James Casey'; 'Hubert Thompson'; publib at webjunction.org
	Subject: RE: [Publib] Assault on Reason?/Censorship

	Let me toss into this mix--There are libraries in the US that do censor through selection based upon philosophy of the library staff.  

	In the 80s, prior to library school I volunteered in a public library (not in Alabama, but a more "cosmopolitan" area).  Any and every book published that was critical of Catholicism was purchased.  When I asked that the library order The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World <http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Moment-Paradox-Church-Postmodern/dp/006066097X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222723233&sr=1-5>  by Richard John Neuhaus I was derided for my lack of intellect.  

	This experience has helped to color my own selection ideals.  

	Paula S.W. Laurita, MLIS
	Coordinator of Public Services
	Athens-Limestone Public Library
	Athens, AL 35611

	plaurita at athenslimestone.lib.al.us

	We have found that a library is not an end in itself, but a means to many ends.
	Charles E. Rush, 1939 

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