Ask a librarian.
I had a few questions about the outcome of the Marshall Public Library controversy and the policy that’s currently being developed, despite strong reporting in the Democrat-News. One thing I wondered was if the developing guidelines were going to be applied to all new acquisitions and if that new additions to the collection would be suspended until the guidelines were in place.
Amy Crump, library director, was kind enough to answer my questions via e-mail:
“The library will not suspend shelving of all new acquisition until the new policy is developed and approved. In addition, books that are currently in the collection will not be examined one by one – we don’t have the staff for that type of job and that was never the Board’s goal. If at any point, other materials are challenged, they will be examined with the guidelines set by the policy.”
So the policy being developed is directed at challenged material rather than general collection development, if my understanding is correct. That puts a somewhat different complexion on the Board’s decision.
