If I was part of Collection Development, I would not make special sections for any part of the collection. Reason one is if you single out one area, then people may wonder why this or that section is not separated as well. The second reason is that having all the books together promotes discovery of titles or topics they may not have ever considered before. The final reason is because as librarians, we should not treat certain topics as lesser to another topic. We promote the community reading whatever they want.
At my library we have online lists of titles that belong to a certain topic or genre, which we will reference to or print out for patrons who want these specific books. The list is more of a place to get started instead of a list that is thorough and has all the books in our collection that relate to that specific topic.
Regarding the two articles, I won’t lie; I was a bit angered reading through them. The people who wrote the petitions are trying to make themselves look like good people who don’t discriminate, but they are trying to literally label and segregate books because they don’t agree with the topic. There were some lines from the articles that really made me cringe:
“The petition, which received more than 340 signatures, also asked the library to seek public input before acquiring new materials on LGBTQ topics” (Associated Press).
They want to single out this one topic in order to ban future copies. It’s sickening. The public library houses materials that discuss several backgrounds, faiths, ethnicities, etc. We cannot treat one single topic so negatively.
"I think that's what most of the people of this town who have multiple kids say, we want to be able to take them to the library, and have them go through stuff, and have them know, 'oh hidden in here is an agenda that is popular, but we as conservative Christians say no, we're not going along with that'," adds Korver.” (Lenzini).
Or, we could keep the books by authors and you just tell your child to not read that author. I have had parents tell me a certain book has bad content in it. If they don’t want their children reading stuff, then they should just be more aware of what they (the children) check out. Don’t single out and make people who want to read that feel like outsiders. They are also making actual LGBTQ people look like outsiders. Would they like it if religious materials were segregated and people in the city were made aware before more copies were ordered? I just don't like it when people force their beliefs on others, and to me this is what all these people are trying to do.
As librarians we should not censor books or treat certain topics as outsiders. People should read what they want. If parents want to control what their kids read, then that is their choice. But we cannot and will not do that.
Works Cited
Associated Press. “Orange City Library to Change How Materials Are Grouped after Complaints on LGBTQ Content.” Des Moines Register, The Des Moines Register, 21 Mar. 2018, www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2018/03/21/library-change-lgbtq-content-grouping-change-orange-city-iowa/445970002/.
Lenzini, Jennifer. “Orange City, IA Public Library to Test Trial-Run of Separately Labeling Books with LGBTQ Themes.” HOME - KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports, 20 Mar. 2018, www.ktiv.com/story/37771686/2018/03/Tuesday/orange-city-ia-public-library-to-separately-label-books-with-lgbtq-themes.
I completely agree that parents need to be more aware, at times, what their children are reading. Especially if the parents are the kind who do actually have an opinion on this...but somehow seem to confuse the library with an institutional version of themselves. That would be like expecting a book store to censor what a child takes to the counter...even though the parent is the one purchasing the book for them. I had friends who were expressly told they couldn't read certain books, although my mother didn't have that attitude towards my own reading. And so, I knew that certain friends weren't going to be able to read some of my favorite stories, and I didn't badger them about it.
ReplyDeleteCarter,
ReplyDeleteLike you said it is not on the librarians or library to watch what the children are reading it is on the parents. I agree with you that the statement about the library being required to ask for public input before adding any more books in that section made me stop and say what. The comment made by the board member stating "You have to set the parameters and you have to make the decisions and you have to enforce them," she said. "Not us. Not the library board that meets one hour a month." (des Moines Register). This is so true the book cann't be called to make all the discussion when they only meet once a month it is on the parent to monitor what their children are reading. I can say I am happy that they didn't remove the books that were being challenged.
So true! While there are times when kids may come to the library on their own, it is still the responsibility of the parent to take a look at the materials their child brought home. Although as a librarian, I respect the wishes of parents if they are made known to me, it's still a weird concept to wrap my mind around. My parents hardly ever censored what I read and I think I was lucky to have that.
ReplyDeleteWhat was crazy to me in reading those articles is that they highlight the push to label the books, but snuck in there is the comment you pulled out--that they really would like to approve of what the library acquires! Part of the ALA's guidelines is that libraries strive to show all viewpoints and try never to prohibit someone from getting the information they're looking for... And that goes so directly against it.
ReplyDeleteCarter, I love your post, and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who was angered by the articles. I feel like they are trying to hide their homophobia behind a guise of tolerance, but so many statements said otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI really dislike that the petition wants to have a hand in the materials that are chosen in the future. I believe that can be construed as such a discriminatory action, because I feel like they would shoot down any books related to topics they don't agree with. I believe those decisions should be made by the library and its board members and kept in the interest of serving all patrons.
Hi Carter. The articles definitely rubbed me the wrong way, too. One quote from the Lenzini article that stuck with me long after reading it was:
ReplyDelete"They are not mean to anybody, because of being different," said Kurt Korver, Orange City Resident. "But we feel like our community is being targeted and this stuff is being pushed on us."
Pushed on us?! Mr. Korver doesn't seem to realize that by trying to exclude certain items from the library, his group is pushing their opinions and beliefs on the library, and ultimately, the community. Or trying, to, anyway. The best part of the whole article was the last line:
"The board voted unanimously to keep both books at the library."
Excellent, well articulated and argued post. You bring up many great points that strengthen your response. Full points!
ReplyDelete