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Elese M. Veeh. Politics and Collection Diversity in California Public Libraries' Nonfiction Holdings on Two Controversial Subjects: Abortion and Same-Sex Marriage. A Master’s Paper for the M.S. in L.S. degree. July, 2007. 56 pages. Advisor: David Carr This study examines California public libraries' collections of adult nonfiction books on abortion and same-sex marriage to determine whether a relationship exists between a library's political environment and the diversity of opinions in its collection. A checklist of 20 titles was assembled for each topic, and these book was categorized as either "pro" "anti" or "neutral" on the subject. Library holdings were examined using the California Libraries Catalog, and the political climate of a library's community was determined using recent election results. The expected outcome that there would be less diversity of opinion in libraries serving communities at either end of the political spectrum was not supported due to a lack of measurable data. Libraries situated in politically liberal communities were most likely to own checklist titles, even when controlling for population size. Further research is needed to develop effective methods for measuring how different variables influence the collection development process. Headings: Adult literature -- Non-fiction Collection development -- Evaluation Public libraries -- California Public libraries -- Book collections POLITICS AND COLLECTION DIVERSITY IN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC LIBRARIES' NONFICTION HOLDINGS ON TWO CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECTS: ABORTION AND SAME-SEX MARRIAGE by Elese M. Veeh A Master’s paper submitted to the faculty of the School of Information and Library Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Library Science. Chapel Hill, North Carolina July 2007 Approved by _______________________________________ David Carr 1 Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................2 Introduction ...................................................................................................................3 Literature Review...........................................................................................................6 Method ......................................................................................................................... 17 Controversial Topics ........................................................................................................... 17 Selecting Abortion Titles...................................................................................................... 18 Selection of Same-Sex Marriage Titles.................................................................................... 20 Selection of Libraries........................................................................................................... 22 Indicator of Political Environment ......................................................................................... 23 Analysis........................................................................................................................... 24 Results..........................................................................................................................27 Categorizing Abortion Titles................................................................................................ 27 Categorizing Same-Sex Marriage Titles.................................................................................. 27 Political Orientation of California Public Libraries' Communities ............................................... 28 Distribution of Abortion Books ............................................................................................ 29 Distribution of Same-Sex Marriage Books.............................................................................. 30 Summary and Recommendations for Further Research.............................................34 References....................................................................................................................36 Appendix A: Codebook for Categorizing Abortion and Same-Sex Marriage Books ..39 Appendix B: Checklist Titles and Points of View .......................................................40 Appendix C: Abortion Checklist Survey Results .........................................................42 Appendix D: Same-Sex Marriage Checklist Survey Results........................................49 2 List of Figures Figure 1: Categorization of Sample Abortion Titles............................................................ 27 Figure 2: Categorization of Sample Same-Sex Marriage Titles............................................. 28 Figure 3: Characteristics of California Public Libraries ....................................................... 29 Figure 4: Average No. of Checklist Titles Held vs. Political Orientation of Community..... 32 Figure 5: No. of Same-Sex Marriage Titles Held vs. Population and Political Orientation . 33 3 Introduction The American Library Association (ALA) devotes four of six articles in the Library Bill of Rights (1980) to the need for libraries to maintain access to diverse collections that represent the spectrum of viewpoints. Article I of the Library Bill of Rights states: "Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation." Librarians are specifically charged with the provision of "materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues." Given its central location in the Library Bill of Rights, one can infer that the ALA considers the development and maintenance of diverse collections a fundamental guiding principle of librarianship. In order to ensure that the breadth of opinions is represented in a collection, librarians must select materials without influence from external or internal sources of bias. An ALA Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (1990) lists examples of how collection developers proscribe materials, whether consciously or unconsciously: Some examples of censorship may include removing or not selecting materials because they are considered by some as racist or sexist; not purchasing conservative religious materials; not selecting materials about or by minorities because it is thought these groups or interests are not represented in a community; or not providing information on or materials from non-mainstream political entities. While it's easy to identify an overt challenge to a book from a library patron, the effects of bias on the entire selection procession are likely to be less obvious. Librarians as a 4 whole are often stereotyped as left of the political center, and some evidence points to this being true. David Durant (2005) discusses "the loneliness of the conservative librarian" in a column about his experiences as an academic librarian. A sample of campaign donations from the 2004 presidential election shows that librarians contributed to John Kerry over George Bush at a rate of 223 to 1 (Brooks, 2004). While librarians may aspire to the collection diversity principles outlined in the Library Bill of Rights, selectors may unconsciously favor materials mirroring their own political views. Further, librarians serving a particularly conservative or liberal population might be swayed to over-represent the prevailing view of the community in their collection at the expense of minority opinions. Although numerous studies measuring collection diversity were conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, there has been little recent research on the subject. This, despite the fact that the political environment in the U.S. has become increasingly partisan in nature. Layman, Carsey, and Horowitz (2006) found that not only have America's major political parties become increasingly polarized in recent decades, the general population is becoming ever more sharply divided on ideological issues, "particularly on abortion and homosexuality." Similarly, Abramowitz and Saunders (2005) posit that red states and counties are getting redder while blue states and counties are getting bluer, which is "producing a nation that is increasingly divided along partisan, ideological, and religious lines." Durant (2005) believes this politicization has carried over into the library profession. He notes: "In the wake of 9/11 and the war in Iraq, librarianship as a profession no longer simply leans to the left; it has become openly politicized. By 2004, to work in a major American public or academic library was to find yourself in a left-wing echo chamber." As the nation's political parties and general population continue to become more partisan in nature, it becomes increasingly important that libraries reflect ALA principles on 5 collection diversity. The spectrum of viewpoints on a given issue should be represented in public libraries so that voters can inform themselves about ballot issues, minority voices in a community can find support for their beliefs and experiences, and all patrons feel welcome regardless of their perspectives on a particular issue. Given the importance of collection diversity, especially against the backdrop of increasing ideological polarization, it is useful to revisit this issue

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