Ashley Borman, Technical Services Librarian at the Clintonville (WI) Public Library and YSS board member, is back with her monthly column. This is the first of a two-part series on things to keep in mind when building a balanced collection.
Image by Hassas Arts from Pixabay
In Collection
Development classes, we learn about how to maintain collections. We are taught to
develop our collections without bias, so that we have something for everyone,
because, as we all know, everyone is different and unique and has their own
thoughts and feelings.
However, just
because this is what we are told we should do, does not mean this is what we do
in practice. If you look closely, and analyze all the materials you purchase,
you might notice that they lean more towards a certain viewpoint, than a
combination of all viewpoints on any given topic.
It is almost
impossible to not let our biases affect our decision making. Even so, we can
make a conscious effort to check the materials we are purchasing for biases,
and make sure to find similar materials with different viewpoints to complement
and round out our collections.
My rule of thumb (especially pertaining to politically charged topics) is if I throw one in the discard pile, I find a similar viewpoint to replace it with. If I buy a new book on a political ideology or figure, I try to balance it with a book on the opposite end of the political scale. This isn’t always easy, as sometimes a large number of titles come out about a specific event, and depending on patron demand, the collection might begin to skew one way, but it is always worth the extra little bit of effort, to make sure there are materials covering the opposite viewpoint on the shelves.
Part 2 will be published on April 20.
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