If I was part of the collection management committee at my library I would not separate LGBTQ fiction or Urban fiction, at least not for the the reasons on them being about LGBTQ or Urban Fiction as a genre itself. However, I may separate them for other reasons. For example, my library’s children’s department separates some books because they talk about death, terminal illness, and racism. We do this to let the parents have a head up in case they are not ready to have that talk with their children yet OR if they are ready and want to find books that would help their children have a better understanding of it. However, with adult books I would not put LGBTQ and Urban fiction books in a separate place away from the general collection. My three reasons for this is that:
These are adults who, if interested in a book, can easily read the description of what it is about on the book or look up other resources to see if it is a good fit. Or even ask a librarian!
I feel like this would be considered as suppression and censorship of these books just based on what their topic and themes are.
The ALA’’s Library Bill of Rights says “I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.” This would mean that separating these books based on the LGBTQ themes and the themes and views within Urban Fiction would go against the Library Bill of Rights.
"Library Bill of Rights", American Library Association, June 30, 2006.
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill (Accessed April 12, 2024)
I agree that it is important to include them on a shelf and let the patrons decide if it is a book that they would like to read or not. I also find it super important to follow the Library Bill of Rights as closely as possible in each library system since it is super important to be inclusive as best as we can be as librarians.
ReplyDeleteHi Emilia! I find your library's idea of putting tough topics in a different spot for children an interesting idea! I think it's a nice way of giving parents autonomy, and having tough topics in their own display may get parents thinking about "when should I have this conversation with my child?", and seeing those books on display could help encourage them to take those steps. I agree with you on the topic of making a display for LGBTQ+ and Urban fiction. Separating it would raise some eyebrows, even if the fans of those genres were the ones to request it. Other patrons may find the move distasteful and discriminatory, and it's up to us to treat books the same way. I like your comment about the adult patrons, as well; they're old enough to make their own choices, so moving books to a different shelf would be manipulating those decisions.
ReplyDeleteI was also looking up the Library Bill of Rights and other ALA works on Core Values and whatnot. I think that's always super important to keep in mind when making decisions.
ReplyDeleteGreat job trying this prompt response in with the library bill of rights. Very well said!
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