Who Needs Books?

January 7th, 2007

Jon Swift sent in his write-up on the Fairfax library situation. It’s a very long post and an interesting read. Jon is a self-proclaimed “reasonable conservative”, which is enough to make most librarians cringe. That said, I’ve always thought that in order to have a firm grasp on your own views, it’s important to read what those that disagree have to say.

What I missed and what Jon’s post brought out was Leslie Burger’s quote from the Wahsington Post article:

“”I think the days of libraries saying, ‘We must have that, because it’s good for people,’ are beyond us,” said Leslie Burger, president of the American Library Association and director of Princeton Public Library. “There is a sense in many public libraries that popular materials are what most of our communities desire. Everybody’s got a favorite book they’re trying to promote.”

This is brilliant. She puts the onus on the community to decide what is right. The question is, though, how do we know what books our “communities desire”. Conversation is one idea, book discussion groups are another, but I’m sure that libraries will never get it 100% right.

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