Objectivity, Values, and the Christian Librarian

Volume 44 | Issue 2 Article 4 2001 Objectivity, Values, And The hrC istian Librarian Steve Baker Union University The Christian Librarian is the official publication of the Association of Christian Librarians (ACL). To learn more about ACL and its products and services please visit //www.acl.org/ Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/tcl Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation Baker, Steve (2001) "Objectivity, Values, And The hrC istian Librarian," The Christian Librarian: Vol. 44 : Iss. 2 , Article 4. Available at: http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/tcl/vol44/iss2/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Christian Librarian by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. OBJECTIVITY, VALUES, AND THE S LIB Steve Baker, e central questions of Christian basis of our work, but sooner or later librarianship in the postmodern we run headlong into circumstances that Emma Waters world involve the philosophical force us to examine the nature and implica Summer Library, grounds of collection development. Are tions of our professional value system. there reliable objective grounds for Recently, one of our more thought Union University, attempting to build balanced collections? ful students came to me with several Jackson, Tennessee What values ought to guide the librarian in books on Catholicism that she wanted this task? How will the application of those to donate to the library. She indicated values differ in the context of an evangelical her dissatisfaction with the quality of Christian institution? the collection with regard to Catholic It is no secret that librarianship is Church teaching. Being a practicing now in the midst of a severe crisis. One Catholic, she was obviously offended symptom of this is the debate surround by some of the books in our collection. ing the future direction of library The books she offered dealt with education. 1 It seems that the extreme several areas of Catholic dogma from a pressures of societal change have clearly Catholic perspective. As one driven us once again to re-examine the might expect, being an institution of theoretical grounds of our profession. Baptist tradition, our library does not For this reason, the presentation by have an extensive Catholic collection. It Michael Gorman at the Association of primarily consists of academic mono Christian Librarians Conference 2000 graphs dealing with the history of was particularly timely. As a member of Catholicism, some biographies of ALA's Task Force on Core Values, he outstanding church figures, and the has been involved in the process of works of a few major Catholic writers. recasting the values that characterize Added to this mix are a number of the profession. 2 His thoughtful re apologetic texts from the Protestant minder of the essential values that have perspective. It was obvious that our guided our profession, along with the collection was somewhat biased at this open discussion of those values on the particular point. Believing that there is final day of conference, served to great value in maintaining some stimulate my own thinking. As librar semblance of balance in the collection, ians whose professional practice is I gladly accepted this student's gift and intentionally informed by evangelical had them added to the collection. If at faith, we need to give serious thought to some time in the future these newly the theoretical basis of librarianship. added books caused controversy, I must Only then will we be prepared to be prepared to present a well reasoned formulate a theory oflibrarianship that defense of my actions. is both philosophically coherent and After reflecting on this event and informed by our faith. the words of Dr. Gorman I pose the In our daily routine few of us following questions. Are there any consciously reflect on the philosophical reliable grounds for building balanced The Ch~€J!}brarian, 4-4(2) 2001 collections in a postmodern world? If so, theme in postmodern thought. Ifobjectivity increasingly fragmented world of scholar what are the defining values oflibrarianship in the scientific fields is open to ship. Shera believed the only two choices that might give guidance and where did they question then all disciplines face a for affecting such coordination were originate? Then too, how will the applica common objectivity problem. This is authoritarianism and democracy. The tion of these library values in the context of certainly the case in librarianship. discipline of"social epistemology" was to evangelical Christian faith differ from their The American Library Association provide tools to ensure that democratic application in some other setting? In partial codified neutrality in 1948 with the processes guided this coordination of answer to these questions I attempt three adoption of the Library Bill of Rights. 7 This scholarship. 12 Since he viewed librarianship things in this paper. First, I examine some of document remains the central philosophical as a profession primarily focused on the the challenges that postmodemists present statement oflibrarianship the present debate "management ofknow ledge," he closely to our professional values. Second, I briefly over core values notwithstanding. More aligned it with this new discipline. 13 He review some of the intellectual roots of than any other document, it provides also recognized that in librarianship the librarianship. Third, I look at some of the librarianship with shared objective criteria problem of objectivity was particularly current alternatives for establishing a for decision making and operates as a acute, as the following passage suggests: coherent grounding for our profession and powerful disciplinary catalyst. At its July The only rule that governs research build them into an evangelical framework. 2000 meeting ALA adopted an official is the rule of objectivity ... Reason interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights ing or observation diluted with OBJECTIVTIY QUESTIONED concerning intellectual freedom. This emotion becomes sophistry or Librarians are not alone in feeling interpretation begins with the following dogma. We submit that these are uneasy about the tenuous ground upon suggestive language: particular threats to research which their professional values are A strong intellectual freedom librarianship, for librarianship is a based. All disciplines of the Western perspective is critical to the service, and a service is always liberal academy face a similar predicament. development of academic library in jeopardy from emotion. The Since the 1960s objectivity, a basic tenet of collections and services that librarian means to do good, and the academy, has been under heavy attack dispassionately meet the education by dint of self-sacrifice and hard from postmodern thinkers. They have and research needs of a college or work he does what he means to effectively demonstrated that value free university community. 8 do, and therefore that which he inquiry is a chimera; one always brings This unambiguous reminder to build does is good. 14 values and a degree of subjectivity to areas collections and design services "dispassion Shera understood that the very nature of of inquiry. Even disciplines long considered ately" points up how deeply the profession the librarian's task is laden with value; that to be particularly objective, such as those in is committed to value free library service. there is a "essential tension" between the sciences, now find their objectivity Echoes of David J. Foskett's classic objectivity and subjectivity in its called into question. The pure objectivity of statement on the objectivity project in practice. While his goal of establishing the sciences is no longer taken for granted, librarianship can be heard in virtually all a new discipline never materialized he as shown through the work of Thomas statements like this that emanate from was prophetic in one significant way. Kuhn. Kuhn challenged the objectivity of ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom.9 One He accurately pointed to the choice the hard sciences through a careful analysis can almost hear the phrase ''no religion, no librarianship must make between authoritar of the social process that lies behind one politics, no morals" reverberating through ian vs. democratic means for the coordina scientific theory overturning and replacing the halls of deliberation.10 tion of its own purpose. 15 This choice another.3 As he explains it, within the A librarian who sensed early on the would become a defining faultline for the scientific community there are certain shaky foundation of objectivity in profession's commitment to objectivity established criteria which, when taken librarianship was Jesse H. Shera. He during the last quarter of the twentieth together, "provide the shared basis for remains one of the profession's most century, as it struggled to find its purpose in theory choice."4 As Kuhn rightly points creative thinkers of the twentieth century. the post-industrial information age. out, the application of these objective He and others at the University of Chicago During the 1970s and 1980s many in criteria do not always agree. When two were studying the intellectual forces at work the profession began advocating the criteria point toward opposing choices in society and attempting to build a new adoption of an information science model in it creates a problem that may only be discipline they called "social epistemol hopes of securing its place in the new resolved by some individualized means.5 ogy."11 In his 1954 commencement address information age. In the process, the As he puts it, "every individual choice to Western Reserve University, Shera briefly profession's historic commitment to between competing theories depends on a outlined this new discipline and the problem objectivity was challenged because of the mixture of objective and subjective factors, it was meant to address.

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