Ought public libraries advance social agendas?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Perhaps phrased another way, ought a community’s public library reflect that community’s predominant views and beliefs, or ought it seek to expose the community to alternative views?

This is the context in which this issue arose. The library in our community - mostly white/upper middle class/purplish/Chicago suburb - used to regularly put up displays in various display cases for such things as Pride Week, Black History Month, and other seasonal celebrations/recognitions. They would also have displays of related books and materials.

As I understand it from an ex-employee, there was considerable objection to some such displays, and the library no longer puts them on. That employee also related the library and staff receiving repeated objections - mostly conservative/religious - to various materials. On the flip side, this employee indicated that residents of color “felt more comfortable” using the library in a more diverse neighboring suburb. This employee maintains that library management spoke a good “social justice” game, but did not implement such principles.

In that context, within our household we have periodically discussed the extent to which a public library ought to engage in ANY social/political expression. If a community is very nondiverse, ought the library that they support financially reflect their views/preferences, or ought the library challenge such views? Is it sufficient to have materials expressing different views on the shelves, available to those who seek them out? What - if anything - ought a library do to appear more attractive/welcoming to minority patrons?

This sort of analysis can apply beyond seasonal display cases to the materials the library buys/offers, speakers/programs hosted…

Just wondering what you guys thought.

2

All human institutions advance social agendas. The question is just which ones. A library that deliberately attempts to avoid all social agendas is embracing a particularly dangerous social agenda.

3

This. The very notion of “government” is “The means by which our social (AKA collective societal) agenda is advanced”. All else is mere commerce.

In a good society it becomes “The means by which everyone’s social agenda is advanced”. In the worst case society it becomes “the means by which Dear Leader and his cronies’ social agenda is advanced”.

The problem in intermediate societies comes in when the usual suspects confuse “freedom from” with “freedom”.

4

Absolutely.

To provide a special display for Pride Month or Black History Month, International Women’s Day, or whatever, provides an option, not a compulsory subject. I’m not aware of any library forcing people to read any particular book (or the opposite).

And who’s to say that the [perceived] demographic of an area doesn’t include minorities who would be interested in more varied options?

5

So, if a library is in a very wealthy, conservative, white community, it ought to actively promote - say DEI or poverty issues? Who makes such decisions? The library employees? The board? Vocal community members? And what factors should influence them? Can you draw a clear line between social awareness and politics? Should political materials/messaging be allowed?

My personal tendency is to appreciate that libraries “challenge” certain mindsets and presumptions, and encourage DEI. But I also am somewhat sensitive to the position that many folk - who are footing the bill - might not wish to be “challenged” in such manner when they simply wish to check out material.

My understanding is that the frequency with which material is checked out is a significant factor in determining whether that material will be deaccessioned. (Has often bugged me when our library dumped material I consider “classic,” because “no one checked it out!” But libraries lack infinite space…) If some materials are intended to appeal to minorities, but are not used regularly, ought they be kept on the shelf?

6

But what, exactly, is the challenge? ‘Hey, some people are black’ doesn’t really seem like a challenge. ‘Hey, some people are black and write books,’ likewise. ‘Hey, some people are gay’ — well, yeah; they are.

So — what?

7

If libraries didn’t contain knowledge about things outside of the average ken of their locality, I would be an ignorant fool like most of the morons from my small town that wouldn’t have been caught dead in a library (even before the recent anti-library bullshit that this thread is playing off of).

8

While I personally think it’s good if the library has these sorts of special promotions, I also realize they exist in the real world and can have unintended effects. The library doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It exists by the grace of the community. How the community feels about the promotions may effect change in how the library operates. That could mean a change in library management, a change in library funding, or a change in the number of branches. That change may be positive or negative. So while I personally don’t object to these promotions, the library management should be conscious of how the community will react.

9

Yes, that appears to be the challenge. Some people see a Pride display at Target or the library and whine about something being shoved down their throats.

10

There’s a difference between these two propositions, though it can be subtle.

The most important “social agenda” for a library to support involves freedom to be exposed to a wide range of ideas, even those that make a proportion of users uncomfortable.

11

I think to some extent , that’s going to depend on the definition of “community” . There are places where a single library system has multiple locations and in those places, I think the “very wealthy, conservative, white community” is just going to have to live with the fact that the branch in their community is part of a larger organization serving a much larger community which might promote initiatives that the wealthy, white, conservative, community doesn’t care much about. For example, if a library system celebrates 'Arab American Heritage month " or “Black History month” with book displays . individual branches may not be able to opt out.

But if the “very wealthy, conservative, white community” has its own library with a single location , well , of course the library is going to conform to what most of the community members want. There’s really no way around it - someone hires the employees and someone puts people on the board.

12

Heh. You want to talk about shoving and throats?

When I went to school, there was stuff that wasn’t merely waiting for me in a library; it was assigned reading in class. You were required to sum things up for the pop quiz. You would get a failing grade, and be forced to repeat the course you flunked, if you couldn’t get a handle on it. And explaining what Juliet means by “be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet” — well, if nothing else, that’s: sometimes a lady marries a guy.

A lot of Shakespeare is like that. Try explaining the story of Othello without noting that sometimes a lady marries a guy. Try explaining who Lady Macbeth even is without noting that sometimes a lady marries a guy. Try explaining Hamlet’s situation without noting that his mom married a guy after the first guy she’d married died, because — well, sometimes a lady marries a guy after marrying another guy. And so on.

And it wasn’t just Shakespeare; the Odyssey and the Iliad weren’t just in the library, they were required reading — and I genuinely don’t know how long you can talk about the Trojan War and whatnot without mentioning that sometimes a lady marries a guy. We were assigned to read passages from the Bible, even — like the one featuring the woman who was married to Noah, and the woman who was married to Noah’s son, and the woman who was married to Noah’s other son, and the woman who was married to Noah’s other other son, because, well, sometimes, lady, marries, guy, y’know? The Great Gatsby, Fahrenheit 451, you name it: there’s a lady married to a guy, and, by all that’s holy, it’s required reading.

And it was the same in history class: it’s not just that the library happened to have books mentioning the wives of Henry VIII, and which ones he divorced, and so on; it’s that it was, as it were, shoved down our throats that sometimes a lady marries a guy. Yes, maybe I would’ve wound up reading a book in the library to learn about Archduke Franz Ferdinand — but reading about him was shoved down my throat, as was getting told a fun fact about who was next to him on that fateful day. We got taught much the same thing about JFK, come to think of it. And so on.

Heck, it was even the same story in science class: maybe I’d have gotten around to reading about Pierre and Marie Curie in a library book, but instead it was shoved down my throat that said lady married said guy. Oh, other stuff about her, sure; but also that.

Looking back, maybe the only thing that got shoved down my throat in all three classes was: sometimes a lady marries a guy. As far as I know, the only thing shoved down the throat of anyone LGBTQ+ in all three classes was: sometimes a lady marries a guy. It wasn’t just sitting on a bookshelf, take it or leave it; it was a mandated call-and-response, pass-or-fail: sometimes a lady marries a guy.

And so long as all of those are on a bookshelf, in addition to being shoved down throats in classrooms o’er the land, it sure as shit seems real hard to object with straight face to a bookshelf also including ’oh, and sometimes a lady marries a lady.’

13

I agree.

Which ones is certainly the question. I suspect that the average librarian is a bit more progressive than the average community member, and that this influences the choosen agendas. Plus, it is obviously a lot friendlier to have a display of books by LGBT authors than one with conservative views on gender, even though lots of libraries have books that could fill either display.

My public library is sponsoring a weekly Popcorn and Politics movie night with the local Democratic and Republican committees participating. This seems to me a reasonable way to challenge both sides.

14

I think that sounds reasonable. And useful.

I think the folk who object to Pride week or Black History Month would say, “Why not have hetero week, or White History Month.” Without appreciation how much everything is ALWAYS white and cis oriented. But I’m not sure I’d be crazy about hte library allowing a display by some MAGA group. Or, for that matter, BLM. If they allow one, oughtn’t they allow the other?

I ended up essentially ambivalent as to the Drag Storytime issue, as my kids are all grown and it isn’t anything I have to form a personal opinion about. On the one hand, expose kids to various perspectives - great. On the other hand, why wear ANY certain attire while reading stories? I know that issue was done to death elsewhere around here. I only raise it because I think it somewhat relevant. And I believe non-insane folk could differ.

My personal preference would be that our library not waste money on religious materials, or even crappy Harlequin romances - but if that is what enough patrons want…

15

QFT, and I have to add that the current authoritarians, that are complaining about displays showing other points of view in libraries, are showing to all who the real snowflakes are.

Also: taking into account what the so called “freedom of speech absolutists” are doing, it is clear to me that guys that like to control libraries and go against DEI, are the same that used the “woke” and CRT as boogeymen to scare people to vote for them and of course, that was not going to be enough for them.

Libraries and DEI are now in the ‘dismantle or destroy them’ agenda of the right. I made a comment before about how the hard right is trying to have AI to be as regressive as they are, by trying to make the AIs to be as racist, bigoted or ignorant like them. I mentioned then that defenders of that AI behavior are actually like reactionaries who are trying to hire a librarian, that is supposed to offer guidance, to say to the kids and others right away that “Hitler did nothing wrong”.

That was supposed to be a metaphor. And now the right is trying to remove any differences when comparing the status of the libraries compared to the status of AI. :roll_eyes:

16

If diverse materials and displays, disturb/upset someone’s worldview or comfort level, I’d posit the problem lies not with the nature of the materials or displays.

Maybe they’re upset because they recognize that these materials might just encourage more minorities to use the library, and they don’t REALLY want that, but can’t say so out loud? Easier to object to some display material.

17

Nude Story Hour definitely didn’t go over well.

18

All depends on the book placement…

19

I think I see a distinction between two different sorts of “displays.” If it were up to me, I would avoid displays that are just there to advance social agendas, even worthy and/or non-sontroversial ones, because I don’t think that’s central to the mission of a public library. But “displays of related books and materials” seem perfectly appropriate.

20

So, an Earth Day display would be out? Arbor Day? Flag Day?