ALA Code of Ethics
I appreciate this short code of ethics, and I agree with everything it says. I'm just wondering about the "resist all efforts to censor library resources" phrase: last week, I walked into a public library in which the rather provocative Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition magazine was prominently placed in the magazine collection. In general, it seems like the only censoring the public library is in charge of is to place materials in their respective age level collection: children's, YA, or adult. Am I wrong? Is anything else censored at all? Is it OK to have a swimsuit edition magazine out in the open, where young children might see it? Is there any possibility to have a sort of "mature" section in a public library? Just curious.
"Creating a Library Assignment Workshop for University Faculty"
I think it is important for academic librarians to be made aware of student assignments requiring the use of the library. This way librarians can more effectively and efficiently help students. I also think it would be really helpful if public librarians were to be made aware of local school assignments. The public library can supplement the school libraries, and students can really benefit from a public library's resources, as well as become comfortable and familiar with the public library (and librarians) at a younger age. Overall, collaboration among librarians and teachers will lead to better learning and a better library experience for the student.
HarperCollins
After reading several of the online blog postings and websites about the whole HarperCollins issue, I would have to agree that HarperCollins is being rather unfair here. I'm surprised by the huge response that librarians have generated against HarperCollins. Are librarians often so passionate? Or is this just a particularly upsetting issue? I would like to say that I am impressed with the effort librarians are making to boycott HarperCollins until the publisher reverses its 26-loan-ebook policy. I am looking forward to joining such active librarian professionals who care a lot about their patrons and jobs.
I think the popularity of blogs and online communities is giving librarians more of a "voice" with which to have these types of responses (or at least that's part of what Marylin Johnson talks about in "This Book is Overdue"). I agree with you that it is exciting to be joining such a passionate profession!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what libraries can and can't do when it comes to censoring things like provocative magazine covers, but I know the director of the library I worked at in high school would cover up anything she saw as inappropriate with black tape. That usually didn't happen all that often, but Vanity Fair sometimes has questionable covers so she would cover those. We never got complaints, but I'm not sure it was really okay for her to do that. At the same time, we do have a lot of children that go there, so I think that's why nobody ever complained. On a side note, I like this library uproar! I think it shows the world that the old librarian stereotype is not true at all. However, I'm not a fan of the situation that has led to the passion coming out, and I think Harper Collins isn't being very fair either.
ReplyDeleteNah, librarians aren't usually this passionate. It's great to see, though!
ReplyDeleteIn the public library I visited growing up, magazines like Sports Illustrated and Cosmopolitan were with the rest of the adult collection, but I'm pretty sure that they weren't obscured in any other way. And books on adult subjects were with the rest of the adult books, filed under the appropriate Dewey. But then, I also don't understand the big deal with children seeing a woman in a bikini, so I'm probably the wrong person to ask if a "mature section" is possible/necessary.
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