this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2023
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The librarians are responsible for curating books and assigning them to the appropriate sections. That said librarians are human and mistakes can happen, if you believe a book is inappropriately categorized speak to a librarian about it (in a respectful manner please) and they will reevaluate the book.
However, while a certain book may generally be appropriate for a certain age range, not every book is appropriate for every reader. While the librarians can offer guidelines, in the end it is the parents responsibility to ensure their child is only checking out materials appropriate for them. This duty cannot be off loaded onto the librarians.
And what then should parents do if they think librarians haven't been doing a good enough job? Convince them all one by one until the librarians all agree with the parents? Or simply pass a law making sure the librarians follow the guidelines the majority has agreed upon?
Then you can present your case to the Library Board of Directors, a group of local civilians appointed by the local government to oversee the library and it's operations, at one of their regularly scheduled public meetings.
Present your case and if they board believes that there may be validity to your case they will launch an investigation. If the investigation finds that the librarians are not properly following the library's collection polices, the librarians responsible will be reprimanded, or in extreme or repeat cases they can recommend the local government fire the offending librarian. Or if they find the librarians were following the library's collection policy correctly, but the policy is flawed then the board can rewrite the appropriate sections of the policy.
It is unfathomable that there is ever an actual case where this is appropriate. Unless the librarian is putting Madonna’s “Sex” in the children’s section nobody’s idiosyncrasies should rule the day. Those parents who have that inclination should reassess or at the least just focus on sheltering their own children rather than rabble-rousing
I agree, but the procedure is in place and they have a right to access it.
I'm the Library Director at my library, and if after talking to me about their issue they are still unhappy and want to take their complaint to the next level, I tell them the time and date of the next Board meeting and tell them that I will make sure they are on the agenda.
I've only had 1 person actually show up to the meeting. And in that case the Board determined that we had followed the library collection policy accurately, that the policy was sound, and that no further action would be taken. (It was Harry Potter btw, way back in the "These books promote witchcraft" days).
But honestly the vast majority of the time I'm able to resolve the issue just by talking to them. Most people just want to be heard and validated so telling them they we will be reevaluating the book, and if appropriate we will relabel it and move it to a more appropriate location is enough to put an end to it.
Wouldn't this entire discussion be negated if the parents actually took an interest in raising their child and asked them about what books they are reading rather than expecting librarians to police children's reading habits? Librarians categorise books according to genres and categories, and obviously the 'kid's corner' or what the equivalent name is in the library will be the children's section with the books aimed at children. Librarians provide the books, but they can't be expected to know your specific child's reading habits or whether a book is good for them or not. This really comes down to parents both being too controlling and also too uninvolved in their child's lives. They want librarians to police their reading habits, but then also bemoan the fact they don't know what their little Timmy will read because they can't be bothered to ask.
Just stay away from the library snowflake. Things sure are scary out there for you far right conservatives.
maintain better control over their kids instead of trying to trash a public resource??
The public managing a public resource in the way they see fit is not trashing it. That's how it's supposed to work.
Censorship of all families' choices because you are too inept to manage your own child is not actually how "it" is supposed to work
I'm confused, because in a majority of your comments it sounds like you read "parents pushing government to dictate what books are allowed in libraries" and translate it into "the public managing a public resource." The assumption it sounds like your making is that those parents represent the interests of the public at large. That's a shaky assumption at the best of times; you have to realize that a vocal minority like that isn't just trying to manage the public resource for themselves, but also to manage it for everyone else, determining what the rest of the public has access to. So it's more than likely the rest of the public ain't really cool with that, which is why a lot of people here are telling them to piss off. If you're advocating for the public to manage its own resources, then you can't just blot out sections of the public you don't like.
Learn how to parent instead of expecting the library to do it for you. If you don't like the library's recommendations, do a better job helping your child pick books. It doesn't need a drastic overhaul because you personally didn't like their book choices.
You are responsible for what your child has access to, whether that is junk food, the internet, books, toys, what have you. The librarians are catering to the requests and needs of every part of their community. If you believe a mistake has been made in curation or cataloging (it happens,large libraries intake thousands of titles each year) then go through the appropriate channels.
If we're talking about a public library, they should find the form to reconsider having the book in the library. They typically ask why you think it should be removed, other materials that would be more appropriate, etc.
In the public libraries I know, that goes to their admin department to be re-evaluated. In mine, it's done by the director and head librarian. It's not a majority vote by all the librarians, and the librarian who purchased it doesn't have the final say. All public libraries have a reconsideration policy/collection guidelines. If they review it and find that the book violates those, they'll get rid of it.
There are ways to appeal their decision as well.
The local libraries should reflect those standards and abide by them.
Most libraries have it written in their policy that one of the factors they should consider when curating books is where they are appropriate for the community they serve. And they have procedures in place for challenging material that individuals find to be inappropriate.
However most communities are more diverse than many individual people realize and just because the book isn't appropriate for them doesn't mean that it isn't serving others in their community.
At my library I once had someone complain that 50 Shades of Grey wasn't appropriate for our library because we have such a large senior community. But to be honest, 80% of the series' checkouts were by the very little old ladies that patron was concerned about.
Honestly if book is getting decent circulation it is probably a better fit for the community than people want to admit. And if it is not a good fit for the community it sits on the shelf collecting dust until it gets weeded out for lack of circulation.
How is an ignorant or illiterate parent going to " ensure their child is only checking out materials appropriate for them." Isn't a librarian more qualified to know than a parent that is statistically unlikely to be educated enough to make a reasoned decision?
Librarians might know books better but usually don't know the child's personality, reading level, fears, interests, upbringing... So as a parent, if you have any doubt, talk to the librarian.
We librarians are more than happy to help you make the right selection but we can't make the choice for you. You can ask us what the book is about whether it contains certain types of content. We can also point you to resources that may help you make your decision. In fact if we suspect you might be making a wildly mistaken choice we might even take a moment to verify that you are making an informed decision.
What you can't do is drop your kid off at the library for an hour and expect us to police what they read or check out on your behalf.
I've had parents not allow their 17 year old to check out Harry Potter because it will teach them witchcraft, while allowing their kids to read Twilight because it promoted abstinence. I've also seen parents let 2nd graders check out Attack on Titan (a Japanese comic where giant naked Ken dolls are going around eating people, and yes they knew what it was about), while forbidding the same kid from checking out a book with aliens in it because it went against the teachings of the bible. I once was once on the receiving end of an angry rant by a parent for letting their kid check out a Junie B. Jones book (a popular and award winning book series written for early grade schoolers) because the main character talked back to her parents.
There is no way I can know what each individual thinks is appropriate for their child. However I will do my best to help you make an informed decision for yourself.