Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to Statistics

Thanks for looking.
Mary Anne — (archived)

If the experiences that I have had are any measure, the parental challenges are about 30% individual parents speaking up on their own behalf and 60% parents who are acting at the incitement of other organizations. The complaints of the latter type come in formulated phrases, just like those form letters someone is always asking me to sign and send to my Representative. One can usually tell who has read the book.

We have gotten much better at heading off formal challenges, which is what is being measured here. A formal challenge is one which has moved beyond the conversation stage into the realm of a written request for reconsideration. The ALA has provided documentary guidance and live and online workshops on how to deal with irate customers and with political pressure before we reach the formal challenge stage. Often customers are happy with being heard, and in cases in which the option is appropriate, we can reclassify the item so it remains available but is moved to a different location. Even the existence of Banned Books Week has raised public awareness of the phenomenon and made more casual complaints less likely to result in a formal challenge. That may account for some of the drop in challenges.

Besides this, library and information science curriculums have placed increased emphasis on institutional collection development policies to make collections less vulnerable to activities like organized censorship campaigns and attempts at flooding. Such policies make collections less vulnerable to internal bias as well.

Log in or register to post.

The whole thread (46 posts)