Darby, Please do not take my comments personally. I am truly sorry if I offended you but I stand by my comments. Of course you would not buy any child pornography. None of us would. I would still like to know the title. The professor had a good reason for using it so that makes it a justifiable purchase. Too often we worry what the majority will think but ignore individuals. I deal with situations like this all the time as I am now at a public library but I try to remain open minded in an attempt to serve everyone. There may be hell to pay but that is what being a librarian is all about. Maybe the requester was just being polite to you and did not want to make your job anymore difficult. I still think this is a case of censorship and am very disappointed in the other librarians who agree with you. This is a respectful discussion. I just can't support what you did. That's all. Who knows, maybe I will post something here that others disagree with vehemently. That's OK. I won't take it personally and perhaps even rethink it. I make a lot of mistakes so I am very open for criticism. Thanks for listening.
Doug On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 2:24 PM, Darby Orcutt <dcorc...@ncsu.edu> wrote: > Catherine, > Thank you for your support, which I can only hope mirrors the > majority of the videolib community. > > If it were unclear to anyone, I was addressing a real-life situation > in which I was recognizing a need for my institution to: > 1) comply with the law, and > 2) adhere to our budget. > > I neither provide illegal content (e.g., child pornography) upon > request, nor do I purchase every item that is ever requested, regardless of > cost; if these things make me a "censor" or at odds with "Freedom to View," > then I expect I am in overwhelmingly good company among librarians. > To be clear, when I say that such a decision is "local and > context-driven," I mean simply that each institution and its needs are > ultimately unique. No institution can provide everything, so each selector > needs to exercise her best judgement in weighing the importance of any > particular content relative to cost for her own institution. > If it matters, the scenario I mentioned was at a public university > and the request was for a XXX-rated film. > Again, the requester also AGREED with my decision and rationale. > > I think this community is at its best when we can have open and > respectful dialogue grounded in support of one another's actual > professional work. > > Best, > Darby > > Darby Orcutt > > Assistant Head, Collection Management Department > > Chair, Humanities & Social Sciences Subject Team > > North Carolina State University Libraries > > Box 7111 > > Raleigh, NC 27695-7111 > > 919/ 513-0364 > > dcorc...@ncsu.edu > > > > > > On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 1:04 PM, Doug Poswencyk <doug8...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> But it is. Besides, we don't even know what the film is! >> >> On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 12:26 PM, Catherine Lee < >> catherinelee...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Hello All, >>> >>> I have been a lurker on this list for quite a while. I feel compelled to >>> make a response now...to offer support for Darby and to express my >>> appreciation for the thoughtful comments of Gisele and Darby in response to >>> a legitimately challenging question by Maureen. "Good librarianship" also >>> means being cognizant of the morals, politics, and overall climate of your >>> institution and broader community. >>> >>> When I read the initial posting, I wondered what my response would be if >>> I were faced with that situation. I'm not at a UC Berkeley, NC State, or >>> UNT. I'm at a community college. Such a purchase--especially with state >>> funds--would come under public scrutiny. Since I am not faced with this >>> scenario, I don't have to make the decision...but I would hope that the >>> decision I ended up making would not be met with accusations from my peers >>> and colleagues of censorship or of being puritanical. >>> >>> Catherine Lee >>> Cape Fear Community College >>> Wilmington, NC >>> >>> VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of >>> issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic >>> control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in >>> libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as >>> an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of >>> communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video >>> producers and distributors. >>> >>> >> >> VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of >> issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic >> control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in >> libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as >> an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of >> communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video >> producers and distributors. >> >> > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of > issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic > control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in > libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as > an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of > communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video > producers and distributors. > >
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
