Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to Read it again.

Library bias
Tom Brosz — (archived)

Unless you personally happen to own your library, your personal views probably have little to do with what books are selected or not. I assume that anyone hired their has to abide by certain ethical standards of nonbias, whether these are formalized or not.

I don't know how a library's power structure is organized, but I assume it would be theoretically possible for those in charge to "steer" the collection in a direction they approve of. One assumes that the professional standards of a majority of librarians, including the employees of such a library, would normally prevent such things, but it would be possible.

For the record, I have yet to run across a library or librarian that has let politics get in the way of their job. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I bet that is the norm.

I happen to know of many private bookstores whose managers display or refuse to display books based on political leanings. Hey, it's their store, right?

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