ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 386 V irg in ia Tech sets policy on controversial m aterials By Paul Metz and Bruce Obenhaus Make sure y o u r library has a written selection statement L ast year, a leader in the Virginia Tech gay student community offered to donate a year’s subscription to The Advocate to the uni­ versity libraries. He expressed the hope that the libraries w ould ultimately choose to sub­ scribe on a paid basis. The principal bibliographer’s research indi­ cated that The Advocate, the leading national magazine for the U.S. gay and lesbian commu­ nity, had a circulation base o f 250,000 and con­ tained thoughtful analyses o f issues o f interest to a community whose emergence has been one o f the outstanding features o f recent social history. W e also determined that despite this circulation base, there were only about 80 OCLC holdings for The Advocate. W e construed this as a discouraging indication that many librar­ ies w ere practicing self-censorship and decid­ ing not to subscribe to a quality serial relevant to many o f their patrons. For all these reasons, w e gladly accepted the offer and have since converted to a paid subscription. The decision to accept The Advocate raised our awareness o f potential criticism o f our col­ lections and seemed to mark as good a time as any for our libraries to write a policy on the selection and treatment o f controversial mate­ rial. W e did not really expect The Advocate to be challenged (nor has it been), but since any policy written in the midst o f an active contro­ versy will inevitably appear to be reactive and defensive, the very absence o f controversy made it a good time for us to draft such a policy. The recent publication o f the fourth edition o f the Intellectual Freedom M a n u a l by ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom provides a stan­ dard by which w e can now assess whether the policy w e wrote is consistent with the philoso­ phy o f our professional association. T o the ex­ tent that our policy does embody the principles endorsed by ALA, it may serve as a model, or at least a representative statement o f some use to other libraries. The full text o f the Virginia Tech statement, which was approved by the University Library Committee and endorsed throughout the chain o f the university governance structure, is re­ produced in the accompanying sidebar. The follow ing narrative attempts both to place our policy within the context o f local history and practice at Virginia Tech and to compare the statement to the principles established by the ALA guidelines. Discussion o f the policy The follow ing comments are intended to pro­ vide local context or to elaborate on the policy as a possible embodiment o f ALA’s goals. 1) The most important aspect o f the policy is its existence. As the M a n u a l points out, “Col­ lection development and the selection o f ma­ terials should be done according to professional standards and established selection and review procedures.” By supplementing Tech’s exist­ ing collection development policy statement and m ore procedúrally oriented B ib liogra p h ers’ M a n u a l‚ the statement guarantees that almost any selection decision w ill take place within a complete policy structure and can be assessed by reference to existing policies and procedures. 2) The policy does not rest on the libraries’ ability to endorse the materials w e collect. As the M a n u a l states, “Libraries do not advocate the ideas found in their collections. The pres­ ence o f a magazine or book in a library , does Paul Metz is principal bibliographer and Bruce Obenhaus is a reference librarian at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 387 not indicate an endorsement o f its contents by the library.”1 Our policy’s reference to pseudo-science is intended to disclaim endorsement by convey­ ing our understanding that some o f what w e collect will be known to be false at the time by most relevant experts or will later be univer­ sally acknowledged as incorrect. Indeed, the only item w e have been asked to remove in recent years was a pseudo-scientific technical paper whose author represented a religious sect (this request was denied at a low er administra­ tive level and not appealed). W e would con­ sider our collections in science studies and so­ cial history incomplete without materials on Lamarckian interpretations o f evolution, or in­ deed without creationist materials. 3) The policy puts our libraries’ acquisitio o f erotic materials in a broad context o f other materials not o f direct relevance to our curricu­ lum. It is not always easy, in the midst o f con­ troversy, to defend on e’s selection o f erotic materials not directly related to the university’s mission. The policy serves to remind our pub­ lic o f the breadth o f our charge. On a practical level, the analogy o f erotic materials to fnateri- als in Portuguese or on nursing (not taught at Tech) or even on more mundane topics such as chess, racquetball, or car repair may serve to defuse criticism. 4) The policy does not allow for the label­ ling or age-based segregation o f materials. As the ALA P olicy M a n u a l states “Libraries cannot act in loco parentis. Nevertheless, ALA acknowl­ edges and supports the exercise by parents o f their responsibility to guide their ow n children’s view ing… ”2 Anyone may use the general collections of the Virginia Tech Libraries. Use o f reserve ma­ n terials or materials in the media center, how­ ever, requires that a university ID or borrower’s card be presented. Any adult living in Virginia, or any Virginia child whose parent signs a con­ sent form representing the parent’s ultimate li- The selection and treatment of erotic or other controversial materials in the university libraries The university libraries acquire each year a small percentage o f the w orld’s volume o f publications. In selecting materials for inclu­ sion in our collections, w e attempt first to acquire those items that relate to university programs and hence will support the university’s goals in research, instruction, and service. Beyond this, w e attempt to represent to some degree the entire span o f humanity’s cultural heritage. Disciplines and languages not taught at the university are represented selectively. The entire range o f human cul­ tural practice, o f science and pseudo-science, and o f religious, political, ethnic, and social expression is welcom e in our collections in­ sofar as representative materials may be ac­ quired with scarce resources. T o build our collections with any other goal in mind would be to ignore both the root and the deeper meaning o f the term “university.” While w e do not acquire materials purely for their prurient interest, our selection prac­ tices necessarily recognize that eroticism is often an integral part o f many forms o f cul­ tural expression and that human sexuality is an important area o f study for both the bio­ logical and social sciences. Once any library materials have been ac­ quired, our concern is to make them avail­ able to as many patrons as may want them. As educators in a democracy, w e must have faith in our patrons to identify and select those materials most beneficial to their pur­ poses. W e are entirely in accord with the principles o f intellectual freedom expressed in the American Library Association’s “Library Bill o f Rights” and supporting documents in Chapter 53 of the ALA Policy Manual, including the rejection o f practices denying or restricting access to materials or labelling materials. Common sense and our own practical ex­ perience have indicated that theft and muti­ lation o f library materials dealing with sexu­ ality is common. For this reason, w e have chosen to place on Reserve some materials deemed to be at risk. Here they may be pro­ tected from theft and damage, along with a variety o f other, nonerotic materials which have been found to be vulnerable to theft and mutilation. 388 1 9 9 3 Banned Books W eek—Celebrating Hie freedom to read The 1993 observance o f Banned Books W eek w ill take place September 25 through O ctober 2. N o w in its 11th year, Banned Books W eek calls attention to the dangers o f censorship and encourages support for the freedom to read. Cosponsored by the Ameri­ can Library Association, the American Book­ sellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Associa­ tion o f American Publishers, the National As­ sociation o f College Stores and the American Society o f Journalists and Authors, and en­ dorsed by the Library o f Congress Center for the Book, Banned Books W eek focuses na­ tional attention on the surprising pervasive­ ness o f censorship in our society, and encour­ ages discussion o f First Amendment rights, free expression and access to information. ability for fines and unreturned materials, is eligible for such a card. Our parental consent form has been modified to include that the li­ braries do not attempt to deny or restrict ac­ cess to materials and that “guardians assume responsibility for the appropriateness and na­ ture o f materials minors check out.” As educators in a democracy, we must have fa ith in our patrons to identify and select those materials most beneficial to theirpuìposes. From a parent’s perspective, the choices are fairly clear. A child’s access to the general col­ lection for in-house use can be prevented only by parental rule. Circulation privileges, access to reserve, and access to the media center come as a “package deal,” and a parent signing a consent form gives permission for them all. It is not possible for a parent to restrict a child’s access to only a specified set of materials. 5) The policy does not allow restricted a cess as a means o f censorship. This is in keep­ ing with section 2.9 o f the Intellectual Freedom Each year, the American Library Associa­ tion, with its cosponsors, publishes the Banned Books W eek— Celebrating the Freedom to Read Resource Kit. The $25.00 kit includes four posters, 100 bookmarks, and a Resource Book with annotated lists o f books challenged or banned (reprints o f the list are available separately), quotes on the First Amendment, ideas for activities and displays, camera-ready art, and sample press releases and public ser­ vice announcements, all designed to convey a simple message: celebrate the freedom to read! For further inform ation about Banned Books W eek and to order the Banned Books W eek Resource Kit, contact the Office for Intel­ lectual Freedom, American Library Association, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 606ll, (312) 545- 2433 ext. 4223. ■ M an u a l‚ which points to the potential embarrassment or inhibition patrons feel in having to ask for materials. Yet the policy at­ tempts to reflect the common sense the M anual expresses in the same section, when it acknowl­ edges that “There may be, however, counter­ vailing factors to establish policies to protect library materials— specifically, for reasons o f physical preservation including protection from theft or mutilation.”3 The M a n u a l goes on to note that “Any such policies must be carefully formulated and ad­ ministered with extreme attention to the prin­ ciples o f intellectual freedom .” Prior to our policy o f placing erotic materials on reserve, about 50 volumes o f such materials had been held in special collections. They were very rarely used, reflecting no doubt patron reluctance to ask for them. T o use materials on reserve, pa­ trons need only submit a slip with the item’s call number. Paradoxically, to ask for erotic materials in the high traffic, busy environment o f reserve is a more private act than to ask as the sole patron visiting the sole attendant on duty in special collections. W e have tried not to be overly protective in c­decisions about where to place materials. The Advocate is shelved with other materials and (continued on page 394) 394 It was very hard for the library staff to sit in the closet when they wanted to burst into the room to correct the erroneous information. Conclusion Focus groups, if conducted properly using the 12 steps presented, can provide a wealth o f information. They are a g ood method for de­ termining what issues and concerns should be addressed in follow-up quantitative research. Remember that focus groups are only one part o f the research process. References Baker, Sharon L. “Improving Business Services Through the Use o f Focus Groups.” RQ 30 (Spring 1991) 377– 385. Hayes, Thomas J., and Carol B. Tathum (eds.). Focus Group Interviews: A Reader. Chi­ cago: American Marketing Assoc., 1989. Merton, Robert K., Marjorie Fiske, and Pa­ tricia L. Kendall. The Focused Interview : A M a n u a l o f Problem s a n d Procedures. N ew York: Free Press, 1990. Morgan, David L. Focus Groups as Q ualita­ tive Research. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage Publi­ cations, 1988. Stewart, David W., and Prem N. Shamdasani. Focus Groups: Theory a n d Practice. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage Publications, 1990. Templeton, Jane Farley. Focus Groups: A Guide f o r Marketing a n d Advertising Profession­ als. Chicago: Probus Publishing Co., 1987. W id d ow s, Richard, Tia A. Hensler, and Marlaya H. Wyncolt. “The Focus Group Inter­ view: A Method for Assessing Users’ Evalua­ tion o f Library Service.” College a n d Research lib ra ries 52 (July 1991) 353-359 ■ (Controversial materials cont. f r o m p a ge 3 8 8 ) shows a high incidence o f theft and mutilation. Many books like A Secret Garden or The Story o f O have been bought for the general collec­ tion, but replacement copies have been sent to reserve after experience has shown w e cannot keep them safe in the stacks. For certain other materials, such as The Joy o f Lesbian Sex‚ it seems foolish not to assume that the probabil­ ity, o f theft is so high that w e should not put the first copy on reserve and be done with it. The general philosophy w e have com e to is that pragmatism can g o a long w ay to defuse or deflect issues that are often injected with an overload o f symbolic significance. Much as the identification o f erotic materials with books on racquetball or chess serves to defuse a poten­ tially controversial collection developm ent is­ sue, the location o f highly sensitive materials on reserve is made less questionable by their sharing this designation with B illboard‚ Roll­ ing Stone‚ and the used car price guides, which w e have also determined cannot be kept se­ cure in the general collection. 6) In retrospect, and in light o f the thoug ful discussion available in the Intellectual Free­ dom Manual, our policy probably over-empha- sizes erotic materials and should place more stress on matters o f religious belief or political ideology. I f w e w ere to rewrite the policy and to see it through the twists and turns o f the governance process, w e would include a greater defense o f diversity in collections. ALA’s care­ ful delineation o f diversity as a goal, (in contrast h to the more cautious, yet inevitably more controversial goal o f “balance”) as laid out in section 2.6 o f the Intellectual Freedom Manual, should be reflected in any future iteration o f our policy.4 Notes 1Office for Intellectual Freedom o f the Ameri­ can Library Association, Intellectual Freedom M a n u a l fourth edition (Chicago: ALA, 1992), p. 39. 2American Library Association, ALA Policy Manual, pp. 136-159 o f ALA Handbook o f Orga­ n ization 1991/92 (Chicago: ALA, 1991), p. 153. 3Intellectual Freedom M anual, p. 66. 4 “Diversity in Collection Development,” in Intellectual Freedom M anual, pp. 49-57. ■ Share your library’s news C&RL News wants to hear about your library’s activities. Information in the News t­ from the Field, Grants & Acquisitions, and People in the News columns is gathered from press releases and notices we receive. 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