Do Librarians Self-Censor Their Collections?
I was recently drawn to an article I found entitled Self-Censorship in Selection of LGBT-Themed
Materials. In it, Downey (2013) notes that “unbiased materials selection is
a vital part (p. 104)” of what we do as librarians, However, we are human, and as
humans we can have feelings, beliefs and views that are in direct opposition to
the books and materials we must acquire for our libraries. Personally, I am a
supporter of LGBT rights and would have no qualms with carrying all types of
resources and materials by and for this demographic.
However, what if I were someone who was vehemently
opposed to it? Could I censor my collection on those grounds? A similar issue
came to light in the media recently when a clerk from Kentucky, Kim Davis was
briefly went to jail for refusing to give marriage licenses to same-sex
couples. Although this was federal law and part of her job, she refused on the
grounds that doing so went against her beliefs. If she were a librarian, I
imagine she would certainly not carry LGBT-themed materials for the same
reason.
In the article, Downy (2013) states that “most
librarians would tell you that they would never practice censorship, or allow
their professional work to reflect their personal biases (p. 104). But can we
prove this? She adds that “self-censorship is tricky because it’s usually
invisible – if a library is missing a book, nobody can say for certain why it’s
missing.” Is it missing because it disappeared over the years, was too
expensive to acquire, or simply overlooked? Or did the librarian knowingly
choose not to include it in the collection because having it would bring unwanted
controversy or because she objected to the content? This is difficult to
pinpoint.
It is important, therefore, to catch ourselves if and
when we may begin to self-censor our collections and work to prevent it. To do
so, we must work to “remove our own beliefs from our decision making about our
collections (Downey, 2013, p. 104).” This is clearly not an easy task,
especially when it comes to a topic like LGBT people and their rights, which
has strong feelings on both sides. “Studies have shown that the vast majority
of libraries lack high-quality, comprehensive LGBT collections (Downey, 2013,
p. 104).” Downey (2013) argues that this is due to librarians falling into one
or more “traps and myths that are prevalent in our profession (p. 105).” These
include the following:
·
Trap: It’s hard to find LGBT-themed books
·
Trap: They don’t circulate
·
Trap: What will it say about me?
·
Trap: There aren’t any (or many) LGBT
people in my community
·
Trap: I don’t have the money in my budget
Although these five traps may exist, Downey (2013)
believes that librarians have an obligation to be thoughtful and considerate in
building equitable collections and a responsibility to put personal prejudices
aside to do our jobs with open minds. She concludes the article by stating “the
diversity of our communities is part of what makes librarianship so exciting
and meaningful. When we can honestly say that we are meeting the needs of our
LGBT patrons with openness and friendliness, both in person and in our
collections, we can be proud of our work and ourselves (Downey, 2013, p. 107)."
I thought this article was well-written, well
thought-out and timely. It is a good resource for LIS students interested in
LGBT collection development, as well as all LIS professionals who need to do
some introspection and evaluate whether or not they bring any personal biases
into their work.
Downey, J. (2013). Self-censorship in selection of
lgbt-themed materials. Reference &
User Services Quarterly, 53(2),
104-107.
