[Publib] Assault on Reason, Collection Development, and Censorship

[Robert L. Balliot]

Well said!

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Robert L. Balliot
Skype: RBalliot
Bristol, Rhode Island
http://oceanstatelibrarian.com/contact.htm
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-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org]
On Behalf Of Theresa Grieshaber
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 6:44 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] Assault on Reason, Collection Development, and Censorship

    It seems to me that there is a distinction to be made between the
library that stocks only anti-Catholic materials, or only "Christian"
fiction, and one which has a stupendous boating collection because its
director is an avid sailor.


     I think there is a difference between selecting or censoring  AGAINST
 something such as Catholicism,  or secular fiction,  and selecting FOR
something such as boating.  

    We are all human beings, and our choices are inevitably going to reflect
that.  I once worked in a library that had a number of Jewish people on the
staff, and so we had an exceptionally strong Holocaust collection.  

    Someone recently said that if you want a great collection on boating,
that you should save it for your own personal collection at home.   It was
also said that  following good collection development policies would prevent
such a thing from happening.

    Yet, we are all pleased when someone describes our library as having a
reputation for a strong collection in  X subject.   Following  very strict
collection development guidelines could result in cookie cutter collections
across the United States.  

How do you think some of these collection strengths happened in the first
place?  It was because interested, knowledgeable people acquired the items
that everyone is now so proud of.   Within reason, there's nothing wrong
with expressing the personality of the selector.  This is, after all, the
age of interlibrary loan.  Having diverse collections is a good thing.
Otherwise interlibrary loan  would neither be possible nor useful.  


        Theresa Grieshaber
         Modesto CA

      


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