Great discussion that will never (I hope) end.
It reminds me that we do well to have a comprehensive collection
development policy and to stick to it assiduously. That sounds drab and
corporate, but we should know why we are selecting every item in the
collection and be able to offer a justification to a parent, principal,
superintendent, member of congress -- whoever happens to take in
interest in our choices. We also should have a policy and procedure for
challenges and -- in the rare instance -- removal of inappropriate
materials. We occasionally make mistakes and we should have a process
for dealing with them without recrimination or bad feelings.
We also need to be willing to stand by our decisions, even when they
make us unpopular. Intellectual freedom is serious business and policies
exist as bulwarks for it. But policies may be interpreted in different
ways according to individual librarians and distinct student
populations. For instance, I have a colleague at one of our other middle
schools who occasionally draws bikinis on some of the more scantily clad
ladies in volumes of manga. She's a voracious consumer of manga herself
and has a great collection that her kids love. Her perspective is that
it's better to have a book in the collection that is otherwise
worthwhile than to pull the entire volume for one or two questionable
illustrations, especially when it's one of a long series. I respect her
outlook and we've had congenial discussions about it. But I can't bring
myself to black out someone else's work. My personal view is that, if
the book is not appropriate to our students, I won't select it. We have
a large number of Middle Eastern and South Asian students, many of whom
come from very conservative backgrounds. So, if I'm really pressed, I'm
inclined to err on the side of caution in determining what's age
appropriate. But if I judge a book to be worth acquiring, who am I to
edit someone else's work? I think this speaks to the distinction between
selection and censorship. I'm willing to play chicken with the
occasional stand-out book, but it has to be worth the effort, something
I feel strongly belongs in our collection.
I guess my point is this: If we expect to be treated as professionals,
we must always act professionally. But it seems to me there is some
wiggle room in how we do so.
---Bob.
/************************************************/
/* Bob Hassett, Head Librarian */
/* Luther Jackson Middle School */
/* 3020 Gallows Road */
/* Falls Church, Virginia 22042 */
/* (703) 204-8133 */
/* Bob.Hassett@fcps.edu */
/************************************************/
See you in the Library!
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