In November of 2001 I received a package of unsolicited books from C.A.I.R., all, not surprisingly, about Islam, its practice and its history, though there was no copy of the Qu'ran among them. I suspect that public libraries all over the country received identical packages in an effort to affect the content of the collections.

I don't play that game. Not with anybody. I replaced our more worn copy of a charming picture book about Ramadan with the copy they sent, and kept the DK Eyewitness Book on Islam, because we collect that series. The rest went in the book sale.

I would not play that game with you either.

Your public library is for the whole public. The composition of its collection reflects the way the public uses it, as well as what it doesn't use. It's not there to serve only you, and you don't get to "rebalance" the collection in a way you find more pleasing to your political sensibilities. If the autobiography of Barry Goldwater is eliminated from the collection, it's because no one is reading it. If the demand were high, or even steady, it would still be there.

People often mistake public libraries, which are expected to remain somewhat current, for archives, which save everything. If you want to read Barry Goldwater's autobiography, I suggest you find your local district center or a depository library, where the "last copy" goes. It's probably on the shelf next to Plain Speaking, a fine biographical sketch of Harry Truman that must be close to 30 years old and isn't read much anymore either.