"I live in a small town with a wonderful library that serves as the social hub of the town. Unfortunately, the library director is a flaming liberal. Many of the old favorite fiction books and some very interesting non-fiction has gone the way of the used book sale. In their place are the works of Michael Moore and Hilary Clinton and oodles of books on the environment.
I vote that you stay in the closet until you become the director someplace, and then purchase every conservative/orthodox Lutheran book you can find."
As some of you may know, I have just started working on my my Masters Degree in Library Science at IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University of Indianapolis).
If what Polly writes is true about the library director I am aghast. A librarian, in theory, should be unbiased in collection development. They should work hard to keep an even balance in the collection. This includes "liberal" and "conservative" view points. In my own fantasy world a library should be an intellectual market of give and take.
I absolutely cringe at the idea of censorship of any kind. When I hear of someone challenging a book because they feel it is "dirty" or "immoral" or "unsavory" my fists clench. I have never understood where someone gets off thinking that they know what is best for me or others. More often than not as soon as someone said I couldn't read, see, listen to, or watch something I went out of my way to see, listen to, read, or watch whatever it was they felt I shouldn't see, read, listen to, or watch.
It is my sincere hope that if I ever get into a position of Library Director or the like that I will keep the spirit of information and making-the-mind-up-for-oneself alive and well.
1 comment:
Agreed.
--DB
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