Intellectual Freedom and Unintelligent Books

Should a library spend tax payers' dollars on books that claim to be nonfiction but have been proven to be false? That is the question a librarian colleague of mine recently posted to a blog. The books in question are by Kevin Trudeau, the author who claims to have diet "cures" and now financial "cures."

The librarian mentioned above is concerned about purchasing these books for her library since Trudeau has been ordered by the Federal Trade Commission to pay millions of dollars for his false claims, and he has also been banned from publishing the next three years. To what extent does Intellectual Freedom apply in this situation?

While we libraians love being the "keepers" of information, and our greatest delight in life is helping people find answers to their information needs, we cannot dictate what someone else chooses to read. If a book is in keeping with the library's mission, the library's clientele is asking for the materials, and the budget allows for such purchases, then Trudeau's books can be an acceptable purchase for a public library. To posit another similar situation, do libraries ban Wikipedia from our public access computers because the information posted there may not be accurate (as we know it often isn't)?

Sometimes Intellectual Freedom means giving people the freedom to pursue ignorance.
It's a tough call for librarians to walk the balance beam of collection development. My colleague has done well in at least posting the truth about Trudeau to her library's website.

More informatoin about Trudeau is available from these links:

Trudeau's debt cures:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/02/trudeau_debt.html

Federal Trade Commission's actions:
http://www1.ftc.gov/opa/2009/01/trudeau.shtm

Teens Promoting the Library

I received a phone call the other morning from a very excited teen who wanted to interview me for his high school newspaper. He was so excited that I've recently been named as director of his city's library. The guy was excited because he knew I had teen experience and because I had been quoted in other newspaper articles about my desire to increase teen programs at the library.

I think it's wonderful that a teen is so interested in his library that he wants to write about it for his school paper. Wow, I thought. This guy must be an avid library user.

In communicating with this teen, however, I learned that he's not an avid library user--at least not of his city's library. He said he visits a neighboring city's library instead. He believes there is a lot of room for improvement in teen services at the library within his own town. I had opportunity to ask his opinions about some of his comments. Why doesn't a teen choose to use a library? This teen's comments may surprise you.

Reason One: No place for coffee.
Contrary to what adults think, teens like coffee (especially the kind with flavors and whipped cream on top!). Without a coffee shop (or with the complementary coffee pot limited only to adults' use), this teen chooses to drive farther to use a library located next to a Starbucks, a library that has an "open door policy" about patrons carrying covered coffee cups into the library. Better think twice before you limit the coffee only for adults or before you post the sign on the front door that says "No Drinks Allowed."

Reason Two: Movies
Again, this reason may come as a surprise to some adults. Yes, it's true that teens like movies, but they aren't all interested in seeing the blockbuster features. A lot of teens are "into" alternative films such as independent works. I've often thought that libraries should be more than a DVD/video rental store (or a replication of such) and have advocated for lesser-available films as part of library collections. Now I have a teen verifying my convictions.

Reason Three: Lack of Friendliness
Those teens in your library may act like they don't want to be bothered or that they're too cool to talk to you, but the truth is that they WANT to be noticed. They WANT the library staff to greet them. Teens love when you learn their names and use those names. (I have already written professionally on this topic.) Don't ignore those teens when they come into your library, thinking that's the way they prefer to be treated. And by all means, don't just "yell" at the teens while they're in the library. I know a youth services librarian whose main contact with the teens is simply as a disciplinarian. "Don't do that." "Don't do this." "That's not allowed in the library." This librarian is always hollering rules and regulations at the teens. And this same librarian wonders why teens don't attend the teen events and programs at the library. Hmmmmm...It shouldn't take a master's degree to figure out that one!

You can learn a lot from a teen. I'm really glad this teen chose to interview me. I'm glad he's excited about the prospects of a new library director and considers such an appointment newsworthy. I'm glad this teen shared his comments with me. I'm looking forward to meeting him soon and to making sure he becomes a vocal part of the Teen Advisory Board!

Breaks from Blogs

My friend Mollie (The Meditating Librarian) posted a comment to her blog after the holidays that mentioned something about how she had opted to take a break from blogging. I, too, took a break. My break, however, was more out of necessity than choice. I was out of town over the holidays but was then struck with bronchitis shortly thereafter. I've never had bronchitis prior to this bout, so I don't know if it's the illness or the fact that I'm getting older, but the "virus" knocked me down for the count! No blogging, no reading, no working, no eating and no sleeping.

Mollie says her blog is for herself. Mine too...that is, it's for me (not for Mollie although I hope she reads it from time to time!). So it's okay to take a break. It's okay for the last post to be a month old. I don't mind at all!