Answer: It depends on what you mean by “neutral.” Some people equate neutral with “equal” or “fair” and somehow come up with equitable, like neutral somehow equals equitable—but I do not buy that. The following sources deal with neutrality in general and in libraries.
 |
| Talking Library Neutrality Podcast logo |
Resource: Library Neutrality: Tangible Goal or Unattainable Pipedream? (2018, March 5). Two Librarians and
a Microphone Podcast. Ingram Blog.
What the
resource says (100 words or fewer): Two
Librarians and a Microphone is a podcast run by Ingram Library Services
in which professionals are interviewed about challenges and issues in librarianship.
This short episode is a good starting place for discussions of neutrality in libraries
and how it sounds like a great idea in theory—until you start thinking of the ramifications.
Should libraries, for example, comply with the Patriot Act or preserve patrons’
privacy? Should libraries acquire books that claim 9/11 was an inside job? Is a
neutral library safe for patrons? Many discussion starters from this podcast
would be useful for librarians.
Memorable
quote from the resource: “She said that it's just really naive to think that we
should be neutral, our patrons don't want us to be neutral, they want to come
to a safe environment, and they want to be able to say whatever they want and
explore whatever they want.”
 |
| Equal sign clipart |
What the resource says (100 words or fewer): To stand up for the oppressed, you must take sides, this post from Organizing Change explains. Consider these quotes:
- “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented” – Elie Wiesel
- “Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral ” – Paulo Freire
When a person or organization is neutral and does not stand up for what is right, the default power structures, even if corrupt, remain in power. The “culture of neutrality” must be challenged.
Memorable quote from the resource: “I enjoy being a positive person, but when being a positive person leads me to avoid taking sides or hiding my true values then I am being an individual who supports our current power structures.”
 |
| Em Claire Knowles blog logo |
What the resource says (100 words or fewer): This post, written by a veteran librarian, redefines neutral from something passive. Active neutrality, according to Knowles, involves fighting against racist and sexist speech, stressing the importance of reading and critical thinking, respecting other cultures, providing reasonable accommodations for patrons, and marketing libraries as a positive force for society. Knowles also stresses equal access to materials, services, and meeting spaces, which must be carefully planned and guided by well-written library policies. This is the only way libraries can be places of neutrality or “objectivity.”
Memorable quote from the resource: “There is nothing, to my mind, dispassionate about neutrality.”
 |
| Feral Librarian blog logo |
What the resource says
(100 words or fewer): In the Are Libraries Neutral? debate, Bourg describes herself on the side of “Hell no.” Libraries as an institution cannot be neutral because the idea “that shared, consolidated community resources ought to exist is not a neutral idea.” The idea that people should have the right to read and access information freely is not neutral. As Bourg points out, libraries were established to educate the masses of the United States—a country defined by Native-American displacement and African-American slavery. For years, libraries “neutrally promoted” white, middle class, heteronormative, and non-abled as default—obviously not neutral. Librarianship today is inherently political.
Memorable quote from the
resource: “You can’t have and
not have the book simultaneously—you have to take a side. As far as I know, none
of us work in Schrödinger’s library.”
 |
| Emily Drabinski's blog logo |
Resource: Drabinski, E. (2018). Are Libraries Neutral? Emily
Drabinski.
What
the resource says (100 words or fewer): Drabinski adds some more evidence to support
the idea that libraries were never a neutral space; in the real world,
libraries cannot buy every book and meet every need— all books they do
buy are choices against thousands of others. Believing in true neutrality could
also stem from a privilege. For example, if you are heterosexual, books about
ex-gay therapy might only be “another point of view” instead of being something
that could psychologically destroy you. She acknowledges that libraries often must
search for information with which they disagree, but to say that one can be completely
neutral is impossible.
Memorable
quote from the resource: “To imagine that neutrality could be something we could choose
is an intensely privileged position, one that I have to imagine my way into as I
listen to the arguments of those absolutists who worlds are rarely contested.”
Click on the links to continue.
Part 1: Library Bill of Rights
Part 2: Library Collection Policies
Part 3: Should Libraries be Neutral?
Part 4: Intellectual Freedom vs. Hate Speech
Part 5: Patrons and Their Opinions
Part 6: LGBTQ+ Right to Read
No comments:
Post a Comment