Not many details emerged from the latest meeting of the committee developing a materials selection policy at the Marshall Public Library, but the coverage at the Democrat-News continues. Nice to see that community members are attending the meetings.

Marshall Public Library Director Amy Crump talks policy in her latest “Check It Out” column for the Democrat-News. In light of the recent shelving controversy, she talks about the library’s position on its younger visitors:

“The staff of the Marshall Public Library enjoys seeing children using our facility.”

… but…

“If you wouldn’t drop your child off at Walmart alone, please don’t drop your child off at the library alone.”

I’m pretty sure there are tons of parents who would drop their children off at Walmart alone, many of whom would then sue the store if something bad happened. But it’s always nice to see someone throw the concept of parental responsibility into a debate like this, even kind of obliquely.

Marshall Democrat-News reporter Zach Sims covers the first meeting of the committee tasked to develop a materials selection policy for the public library. The group’s first step was to gather existing materials selection policies from other library systems to give them a starting point for their own:

“‘There’s no reason for us to re-invent the wheel if we don’t have to,’ said Ann Aulger, vice-president of the library board.”

And perhaps I’m overly cynical, but this quote from committee member Connie Grisier triggers my Community Standards Early Warning System:

“Grisier said that she did not want to ‘compare our policies to different-sized communities.'”

But I could just be over-reacting.

It looks like the Marshall Public Library will be taking a transparent approach to its materials selection policy development, which will be developed in a series of public meetings. Hopefully the Democrat-News will continue to provide coverage of the process.

Chuck Mason, editor of the Marshall Democrat-News, is not happy:

“I have no qualms with Louise Mills of Marshall, who objected to the two books and filed the necessary paperwork to bring the matter to the attention of the board of trustees. Mills is a resident who has a complaint and she has the right to register it.

“What I object to is pulling the books off the shelves.

“The library board has essentially blinked in the harsh light of public discussion.”

Mason is concerned about the precedent the board has set, fearing it will become an open invitation to restrict access to any material that might be viewed as controversial.

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.

It seems the Marshall, MO Pubic Library Board of Trustees has evaded a final decision on whether Blankets and Fun Home belong on library shelves. Both Dirk Deppey and Newsarama’s Matt Brady (found via Blog@) have spoken to the Marshall Democrat-News to get a rundown of last night’s meeting. Instead of making a decision specific to the books in question, the Board decided to form a committee to write a “materials selection policy.”

From Newsarama:

“The proposal was agreed to unanimously, and until the policy has been written and adopted by the Board, the two books will remain out of circulation. After the policy is formed, the two books will be evaluated as to their suitableness for the library.”

Kudos to Democrat-News reporter Zack Sims for asking the first question that came to my mind:

“Sims told Newsarama that he asked if all the books in the library would be treated as such, and retroactively run through the yet-to-be-written policy, and said that he was led to believe that they wouldn’t, though the policy will be applied to every new book.”

It’s still unclear as to who will serve this policy committee. The librarians who are already doing materials selection in keeping with their education and training? Concerned citizens? Board of Trustees members? Some combination of the above?

Tom Spurgeon reacts to the pseudo-decision, noting its canniness (and lack of conviction):

“It’s still distressing, because the books are not shelved until the time of their re-evaluation, which in a way means that for now the board gets to avoid making a decision and the heat that comes with it, but still gets the books off the shelves.”

Over at The Beat, a Marshall resident voices displeasure. Final figures at the Democrat-News site indicate that 71.6% of the 303 voters in the paper’s on-line poll were opposed.

I’ll be curious to see how the “materials selection policy” develops, who has final say, and just how much additional work this will be for Marshall’s librarians. Because when was the last time you heard of an over-funded, over-staffed public library?

The hubbub in Marshall, MO, over Fun Home and Blankets made me think it was time to talk a walk down memory lane of other controversies that have flared up over graphic novels in libraries.

• High-school columnist objects to inclusion of “written garbage” like Mew Mew in school libraries in Maine. (Link)
• Shonen Jump pulled from Scholastic Book Fairs because “who knows what ‘teen’ means?” (Link)
• Florida parent shocked at content of Peach Girl. (Link)
• California library removes Paul Gravett’s Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics. (Link)

For anyone needing a palate cleanser, there’s always the American Library Association’s nominations for Great Graphic Novels for Teens, which includes recent additions like La Perdida, Pyonyang, Mom’s Cancer, American Born Chinese, and Life.