Reflection on "Not Censorship But Selection"

Post date: May 15, 2013 6:29:09 PM

Asheim, Lester. "Not Censorship But Selection." American Library Association. N.p., September 1953. Web. 15 May 2013. <http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/basics/notcensorship>.

Censorship versus selection is all about whether a librarian or challenger trusts his or her readers. Censorship is when someone challenges a book or does not buy it for their collection because there is a part of the book that may be taken in an inappropriate way. Selection is about finding quality materials that, regardless of parts of the book that may be inappropriate, the overall effect of the book is the determining factor. Selection is about looking for positive reasons to add a book to the collection, whereas censorship is looking at the negative attributes of the book. If one only looks at the negative attributes, then they will not be seeing the full picture and will miss anything good that the book has to offer it’s readers. The selection process is based on an intelligent and emotionally sound audience whereas the censorship process assumes that the audience will be weak and unable to handle the parts in question. Being a librarian is about assuming the best of your audience and that they will choose their literature according to their own literary needs without obstructing the needs or wants of others.

I feel that censorship due to anticipated struggle with materials is not the way that a library should be run. Jo Godwin once said that “A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone” and I agree with that statement. Each patron has different literary needs and comes in to the library accordingly. If one book is not right for someone, then rather than banning it for everyone the patron could be shown a different type of book that may be more suitable to his or her liking. This way the book is available for others, but the offended person is still able to come out of the library with something to enjoy.