Incoherent Scribblings

Today I read an article in American Libraries* about a situation where “groups of students and parents [...] staged rallies and presented some 85 books on homosexuality for inclusion in the libraries at 11 schools in the Fairfax County, Virginia Public School District.”

The reason that this article caught my attention was because all the books presented were “from a conservative Christian perspective” and part of a “nationwide campaign organized by the Colorado Springs, Colorado-based traditional values group Focus on the Family, which believes that sexual orientation is a changeable attribute.”

I will quickly sum up what happened: The books were not included because the coordinator of library information services for the district indicated that the librarians felt they already had a balanced perspective on the issue in their libraries and the books failed to meet selection criteria.

Of course in response the Focus on the Family group claimed censorship.

At this point I am not going to discuss the particulars of this case anymore because in many ways it becomes irrelevant to the rest of this post. However, it did bring up some questions that, as a librarian, I have been pondering all day.

First of all, let’s talk about censorship. Did the libraries in question really censor these books? Well, technically I suppose so, but the thing that most people don’t understand is that librarians “censor” books all the time, we just use the term “selection” instead. The fact of the matter is librarians have to be able to choose which books to put in their libraries. We simply can’t accept books with no selection criteria because we can’t fit all books ever published into our libraries.

That matter aside let’s get to the issue that I have been thinking about. If I were in these librarians’ (sensible) shoes, what would I do? And this is where things get tricky because it is a matter of library ethics.

The first thing that I would have to do would be to look at all sides of the issue and be willing to suspend my personal opinion on the matter.

First, there is the belief that homosexuality is biological and homosexuals can’t be “changed.” While much scientific research is being done about the biological aspects of homosexuality, it is not (yet) proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The other side of the issue is that homosexuality is a choice. Usually those who have this viewpoint also believe that homosexuality is immoral and use this idea of “immorality” promote a religious agenda.

Because these two opinions exist, in a truly free society, the library should have materials on both opinions so that someone who is trying to make up his or her mind on the subject can do so in an informed manner.

As a librarian, for me the dilemma is not whether or not to include books on both sides of the issue. The problem is evaluating those books for reliable, credible information.

In many ways it is easy to select books that support the scientific aspects of the issue. Scientific research has rules, studies, and other methods at its disposal to present objective information.

On the other hand, books that look at the moral or religious aspects of the issue are not so easy to evaluate because morality and religion are subjective.

If I had been presented with the situation in Virginia, I would have attempted to objectively evaluate the books presented to me and based upon the quality of the information they contained, would have decided whether or not to include them in my library’s collection.

And if they were well-researched books with credible, reliable information that presented opinions contrary to my own, it would be difficult for me to add them to the collection, but I wouldn’t censor them because of it.

*G. L. “Virginia High-Schoolers Rally for Gay-Cure Books.” American Libraries 39, no. 10 (November 2008): 19-19.