Censorship vs Selection in Libraries Essay

Introduction

The issue of censorship and selection has remained to be a library community challenge. Although various scholars have tried to address and analyze the issue, no possible solution suitable to solve the challenge has been identified. The word censorship is used to mean control of ideas and information that finds its way in a society. Information professionals who analyze the term claim that is not a right term at all. This is because it possesses the power to restrict people from viewing, hearing or reading certain materials content and this is not something worth recommendation. But in most cases, it is usually the decision of the informational professionals to determine what sort of material they should include in the collection of their particular library. Thus, how they carry out these selections in that one material is chosen instead of another brings in the distinct between selection and censorship.

On the other hand, selection is a process which censors tend to question. The questioning is based on why library students and librarians in a library would make the decision of choosing books with a certain core title and leave other books. It therefore shows that when one understands selection basics he is in a position to analyze censorship. Therefore, there is need to understand censorship to be able to know how it affects the society in various ways including the books read, movies watched and music listened as well as other different aspects of daily life. Additionally, censorship seem to support the growth of the society and it helps to make the world a suitable place to live since it creates a suitable environment.

Lester Asheim Analysis on Censorship and Selection

As presented by Asheim there is a difference between the librarian choice to fail to select something to be for his library and the book censorship by a town or law. In this case, the Librarian would only be making a choice which affects the exact institution where he is and he will therefore not be censoring but the censors choice tend to seem to affect an entire nation or town. On the other hand, it could seem that the Librarian does not suggested or claim that circulation of the book is not possible but what he does is only not finding time to move out and distribute the book.

Arguably, Asheim presented that what mainly distinguished a censor from a selector was present in their approach. In this case, a censor had a negative approach while a selector had a positive approach. As a result, the censor searched for information to reject or ban a book while a selector sort for reasons to keep a book. Due to the negative approach, the judgment of a book is done through isolated parts instead of it being done in wholesome. But the diversity of the library collections attracts selector's positive approach since the patrons are able to gain access to as many books as possible. Most importantly, selectors were shown to judge a book through its own merit and use of internal values while censor judged a book using external criteria.

Analysis of Current Literature on Censorship vs Selection in Libraries

Notably, different literature sources have currently tried to analyze the issue of censorship and selection in libraries. As shown different libraries have the desire to attain the informational needs that the users may require in an economical and a timely manner using information resources which are within or those obtained from different organizations. Thus, in most cases the librarian find themselves in the process of collecting materials that could enhance build the library. However, it is quite challenging for librarians to tell why they chose certain information sources over others. Therefore, this is where the issue of selection Vs censorship that has been examined by various research studies comes in. As presented by (), it becomes difficult to give the differences between censorship and selection when new materials are being acquired to be a library collections. Thus, the study showed that most of the times the materials selected are the ones which are desired by the community and are able to fulfill their recreational and educational criteria. It was therefore presented that while conducting the purchase activity, the librarian should not be influenced by his personal interests, political views or religious beliefs to purchase certain books and leave others. It was therefore recommended that while making library collections it is important for the library to present all the information and materials showing historical and current issues for the right choices of books to be purchase to be made.

From another study by (), it was shown that censor had the right to restrict, remove or suppress circulation of educational, literary or artistic materials in areas where the materials were morally objected. Additionally, the materials would also be objected due to lights of standard which censor applied. Nevertheless, certain materials would also be rejected if the board members of a certain school opposed the content in those materials. Among the materials which were shown to be mainly rejected included; radio programs, films, plays, television programs, news reports and books with contents that were immoral.

The study also showed that censorship could be of various forms including; prior censorship whereby the some of the materials of information are censored or burned even before publication. The government agencies, government itself, religious organizations or individuals can do the prior censorship either after negotiations or by force. Post censorship was the other form of objection. In this case, the information is censored or burned after it is published. In this case, any material that gets from its intended audience it can be censored as well as any published material which is considered as a threat to a society.

From the study by (), the issues of selection versus censorship as done by librarians was analyzed. It was shown that the issue faced so much challenges, since it was possible for the procedures to be affected by the librarian own personal factors. Hence, a librarian would employ self-censorship when he would deliberately keep off from selecting materials which he considered to be likely to cause controversial in the community or which were not in line with moral standards and thus they were disagreed upon. To be able to make effective decision, the librarian in most cases consults from other reliable persons before banning the resources. But in most cases, the librarian follows development policies of collection to monitor his actions and prevent placing first amendment and intellectual freedom at risk.

Arguably the issue of selection and censoring as done in the library has been extensively analyzed. It has been presented that libraries have the power to support the intellectual freedom but it can at the same time be in the temptation of selecting and censoring some other forms of materials. The various factors which can at times affect a libraries selection and rejection includes; literary quality, relevance of information to the community, limited storage space, budget, poor reviews, budget and fear of having challenges. But at times, it is challenging to understand when the censor and selection tool was used in a legitimate manner and when it was misused.

When dealing with library collections, there are several challenges which can occur as a result of the selection and censorship strategies which are employed. Thus, appropriate strategies to prepare before such challenges are very important. This could involve ensuring all materials are recorded in the catalogue and are labelled appropriately. This makes it easier for a book to be located by the user. Additionally, sensitive material in the library should be moved to the restricted areas once it gets into the library. Materials should also be relocated within the library system or the library.

Nevertheless, there are also other techniques which can be used to handle the selection and censorship challenges experienced in library collections. In this case, instead of waiting until the last minute when the problem develops there is need to; have appropriate guidelines, plan ahead and ensure everybody within the library understands the set guidelines. Moreover, the school officials and library board are required to understand policies and procedures concerning intellectual freedom. Thus they would be required to keep the procedures and promises current, be able to communicate clearly with local leaders, talk about the position of the library on intellectual freedom to the public and that complainants be handled in a formal way.

Ensuring Personal Bias Does Not Affect an Information Professional

It is necessary to ensure that an information professional is not affected by his personal bias when making decisions concerning selection and censorship. Hence, an informational professional should employ the following strategies to ensure his personal bias does not affect him. First, he should overcome the attribution error. In this, is a challenge ever occurs then the informational professional should

References

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