American psycho: A collection management survey in Canadian public libraries

Curry, Ann

doi:10.1016/0740-8188(94)90024-8

Cited by 21 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Censorship can be approached from an ethical, legal, or collection management perspective (Curry, 1994;Moody, 2004). In addition to the ALA annual 'Banned Books' report, which relies on self-reporting from libraries of challenges to books, studies on censorship in public libraries have taken the approach of interviewing librarians about challenges to books and their actions in response to this (Curry, 1997); surveying the collection management of a particularly controversial book as it was published and surveying libraries to discover their responses to this (Curry, 1994); surveying librarians with regards to their decisions regarding hypothetical collection management scenarios with controversial books (Moody, 2004); and quantitative analysis of the placement of controversial children's books in public libraries (Curry, 2001). Most studies have been quantitative, using questionnaires as a way to gather data.…”

Section: Approaches To Studying Censorshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Censorship challenges to books in Scottish public libraries

Taylor¹,

McMenemy

2012

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

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Censorship challenges to books in UK public libraries have received renewed attention recently. This study sought to establish the incidence of censorship challenges to books in Scottish public libraries in the years 2005-2009 and the actions taken in response to these challenges. It was found that eight local authorities in Scotland had received formal censorship challenges to books, with a total of 15 challenges throughout the country. The most common action taken in response to these challenges was for the book to be kept in stock in its original position with the rationale for this explained to the complainer, with the second most common action being taken to move the title to another section of the library. Two books were removed from the library in response to a censorship challenge. The largest numbers of challenges were made against books on the basis of sexual material

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Section: Approaches To Studying Censorshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to challenges to books from members of the community the library serves, there is the additional issue of 'self-censorship'. This takes place during book selection and involves the librarian choosing not to purchase potentially controversial titles (Asheim, 1953;Curry, 1994;Fiske, 1968;Moody, 2005;Oppenheim and Smith, 2004).…”

Section: Self-censorshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Censorship challenges to books in Scottish public libraries

Taylor¹,

McMenemy

2012

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

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“…Titles that are listed or deemed controversial are less likely to be added to collections (Fiske, 1959;Busha, 1972;Steinfirst, 1980Hurych & Glenn's, 1987Curry, 1994;Sens et al 2010), but the presence of multiple, favourable reviews increases the likelihood that something will be selected (Serebnick, 1979;Watson & Snider, 1981). Resources such as Playboy are held to a different standard than other library materials (e.g., financial magazines and children's materials) that have similar theft and mutilation rates (Cornog, 1991).…”

Section: Attitudes Of Librarians About Controversial Materials and LImentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond obscenity: an analysis of sexual discourse in LIS educational texts

Hill

Harrington²

2014

Journal of Documentation

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Purpose – This research seeks to discover the type of discourse encouraged around controversial materials, particularly those of a sexual nature, in LIS educational texts. Censorship and controversial materials are often issues addressed in the LIS literature, but even with ideals of neutrality it can be difficult to remain balanced on certain issues, particularly those dealing with sex. Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis of 85 LIS texts on collection development, reference, and intellectual freedom was completed using the following thematic elements: sex, pornography, erotica, curiosa, facetiae, obscenity, censorship, and controversial materials. Deeper analysis of individual definitions and usages was informed by Michel Foucault's perspective that education “follows the well-trodden battle lines of social conflict. Every educational system is a political means of maintaining or of modifying the appropriation of discourse” (Foucault, 1972, p. 227). Findings – Findings from the investigation indicate that LIS texts are predominately pejorative when discussing sexual topics such as erotica and pornography. Few texts provide distinctions between different types or genres of sexual materials. Research limitations/implications – The majority of texts analyzed for this study were published in the USA and hence have an American bias. This bias necessitated the use of American legal terminology and a reliance on American Library Association guidelines for examination purposes. The emphasis on American terminology may limit the applicability of the results outside of North America. Originality/value – Sex is one of the most highly cited reasons for challenges to materials in libraries. At the same time the mainstream popularity of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy has created a new, widespread interest in the publishing, reading, and collecting of erotica. An understanding of how these texts are defined and identified in the LIS literature provides greater understanding of the discipline's biases.

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“…Curry also commented on the practices (relocating items, moving items to other branches and temporary moving items to closed stacks) of public library directors as a form of inadvertent censorship and has linked mis-shelving of items or relocation with the items' circulation statistics. Curry (1994) conducted an investigation into the controversial book American Psycho using a nationwide survey of Canadian public libraries. Curry found that of the 435 libraries surveyed 237 chose not to purchase the item (p.210).…”

Section: Censorship and Controversial Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Curry found that of the 435 libraries surveyed 237 chose not to purchase the item (p.210). Ten libraries decided that American Psycho did not meet the standards held by the local community (Curry, 1994). One librarian commented that the book should be quietly entered into the system, "I told my staff not to put it on the new book display or feature it in our new books column" (cited in Curry, 1994, p.215).…”

Section: Censorship and Controversial Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community standards in New Zealand public libraries : an exploratory study

Sullivan¹

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<p>Community standards have been discussed by many authors but none have attempted to investigate their application in public libraries. Public libraries aim to provide information that covers all viewpoints; such information is likely to contain views and opinions that are offensive to many members of the community. The problem of how public librarians define the standards of their communities was central to this research project. In order to investigate this problem a series of interviews were conducted and supported with library policy documents supplied by interviewees. A number of sub topics were also investigated, including how librarians deal with challenging items and whether librarians use any tools or resources to help define community standards. Analysis of interviews and policy documents found that librarians were not able to comprehensively define the standards of their communities. Librarians were divided over whether the demographic differences within their communities had any impact on the standards of their communities</p>

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American psycho: A collection management survey in Canadian public libraries

Cited by 21 publications

References 3 publications

Censorship challenges to books in Scottish public libraries

Censorship challenges to books in Scottish public libraries

Beyond obscenity: an analysis of sexual discourse in LIS educational texts

Community standards in New Zealand public libraries : an exploratory study

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