I can't convey in writing how frustrating my first reference question of the morning was (laptop help over the phone--my colleague says, "If only videocalling had become a thing"), so instead let's talk about collections because it's my current favorite thing.
I had a library school indoctrination, including a class on ethics, so I think of myself as being pretty firmly in the camp of 'everything belongs in the public library,' but I walked by the 610s (medicine) yesterday and had a powerful urge to take a pseudo-science 'cure all your problems with a weird diet' book off of display, and perhaps to mis-shelve it a little, too.
Are there any materials that you think do not belong in a public library?
I like the idea of an evidence-based library that wouldn't have any books about astrology and crap like that. But is there a slippery-slope problem?
ReplyDeleteI think there's definitely a slippery slope problem, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the best place to stop is at the very top of the slope.
Deletethe librarians I work with here think that if we ever got started down that road, we'd end up with about 15 books in our collection
ReplyDeleteI would love to know where you work or what kind of library it is, but I understand if you don't want to say.
Deletepublic library midsize town, full of self-help books and Dr Oz bs.
DeleteDr. Oz, ick!
Deletemaybe we could at least not *display* the books that are full of pseudo-science? One of your coworkers must have decided to feature that book, right?
ReplyDeleteI sort of see your point...it was just the single book on the outfacing stand on its shelf, so it wasn't prominent, but I bet whoever put it there didn't really look at what it was.
Delete