[!CrackMonkey!] Library Staff Censorship Issues Survey
Don Saklad
dsaklad at zurich.ai.mit.edu
Sat May 17 21:07:11 PDT 2003
Library Staff Censorship Issues Survey
http://www.law.yale.edu/library/survey/
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Submission Period Ends: May 30, 2003
The problem of censorship in libraries is a recurring topic for research papers, conference programs, organizational
policies and other statements that support the delivery of information to those who seek it. I am researching the
occurrence of censorious behavior on the part of library staff. There are many situations in which personal belief or
opinion affects the availability and delivery of information. This behavior exists apart from procedural guidelines and
policy regulations.
In addition to seeking general information about staff, policies, and organizational behavior, I am interested in the
awareness of civil rights in the workplace. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides a set of standards that
govern objections to work requirements and employers' accommodations to such requests. Once an objection is made, it is
the responsibility of the employer to decide to accommodate or not to accommodate because of undue hardship.
I seek the opinion of colleagues and professionals in the field of librarianship regarding these subject areas. Thank
you for taking the time to fill out this survey on library staff censorship.
Stephanie Schmitt
Yale Law Library
Censorship -- The change in the access status of material, made by a governing authority or its representatives. Such
changes include: exclusion, restriction, removal, or age/grade level changes.
-- American Library Association [Adopted by the Intellectual Freedom Committee at the 1986 American Library Association
Annual Conference]
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Section I. Information About the Respondent
1) In which type of library department/division do you work?
[select all that apply]
[_] Access Services (Circulation, ILL, etc.)
[_] Library Administration (Human Resources, Financial, etc.)
[_] Reference Services (Reference, Instruction, Electronic Resource Services, etc.)
[_] Systems (Information Technology, Database Administration, Workstation Support, etc.)
[_] Technical Services (Acquisitions, Cataloging, Preservation, Conservation, etc.)
Other __________________________________________________
2) Position Description/Level of Responsibility
(_) Director/Head Librarian/Dean of Libraries
(_) Associate Director/Associate Head/Associate Dean
(_) Department Manager/Division Head
(_) Coordinator/Team Leader/Supervisor
(_) Librarian with no supervisory responsibilities
(_) Support Staff
Other __________________________________________________
3) Years of Experience and Service to the Profession
(_) 1-3 years
(_) 3-7 years
(_) 7-12 years
(_) 12+ years
4) What level of influence do you have regarding the implementation and administration of policy and procedures?
(_) Full oversight (I create the mandate and administer the policies and procedures)
(_) Decision maker/Contributor (I create and influence policy decisions)
(_) Manager/Executor (I enforce and influence policies and procedures)
(_) Participant/Collaborator (I contribute to the development of policies and procedures)
(_) Staff Member (I abide by the policies and procedures)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Section II. Respondents Library or Library System
1) Current Library Type
(_) Academic College
(_) Academic University
(_) Law
(_) Public Library
(_) School Library
(_) Special Library
Other __________________________________________________
2) What is the total staff size for your entire library or library system?
(_) 1-10
(_) 11-50
(_) 51-150
(_) 151-400
(_) 401+
3) In your department or division what is the total number of your staff?
(_) 1-10
(_) 11-25
(_) 26-50
(_) 51-100
(_) 100+
4) Is your organization/institution private or public?
(_) private secular
(_) private religious affiliation
(_) public (state or government funded)
5) Where is your library located?
[Alabama.........]
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Section III. Policy and Procedures Manuals
1) What types of policy and procedures manuals are in your library?
[select all that apply]
[_] administrative (personnel manuals, hiring procedures, general staff training/orientation, etc.)
[_] collection development (assessments, acquisitions, weeding and replacements, etc.)
[_] access (circulation, materials location, general access, etc.)
[_] technical services (acquisitions, processing, conservation, etc.)
[_] technology (appropriate use, web access, etc.)
[_] all
other __________________________________________________
2) Does your specific department or division have a policy and procedures manual?
(_) yes
(_) no
(_) in development
3) What specific department or division do you refer to in regards to #2 above?
[select all that apply]
[_] administrative (personnel manuals, hiring procedures, general staff training/orientation, etc.)
[_] collection development (assessments, acquisitions, weeding and replacements, etc.)
[_] access (circulation, materials location, general access, etc.)
[_] technical services (acquisitions, processing, conservation, etc.)
[_] technology (appropriate use, web access, etc.)
[_] all
other __________________________________________________
4) How often is the policy and procedures manual reviewed and/or updated in your department or division?
(_) semiannually or more often
(_) annually
(_) every 1-3 years
(_) every 3-5 years
(_) every 5-10 years or more
(_) unknown
(_) not applicable
5) Regarding the policies and procedures in general, please assess the level of awareness of the library staff:
(_) Library Staff have a minimal awareness about policy and procedures (manuals are available for review)
(_) Library Staff are generally accountable for knowing about and abiding by the policies and procedures of the library
(reviews are not routine)
(_) Library Staff are thoroughly informed, trained, and accountable for knowing about and abiding by the policies and
procedures of the library (reviews are routine).
(_) The implementation of policy and procedures at my library varies.
(_) Not Applicable
6) Do any of your policy and procedures manuals address the topic of censorship in any way?
(_) yes
(_) no
(_) unsure or do not know
7) If yes, which policy and procedures manual addresses censorship?
[select all that apply]
[_] administrative (personnel manuals, hiring procedures, general staff training/orientation, etc.)
[_] collection development (assessments, acquisitions, weeding and replacements, etc.)
[_] access (circulation, materials location, general access, etc.)
[_] technical services (acquisitions, processing, conservation, etc.)
[_] technology (appropriate use, web access, etc.)
[_] all
other __________________________________________________
8) Does your policy and procedures manual address potential acts of censorship that are instigated by library staff?
(_) yes
(_) no
(_) unsure or do not know
9) If no or unsure, should your policy and procedures manual address acts of censorship carried out by staff?
(_) yes
(_) no
(_) unsure or do not know
10) If yes to #8 above, please provide the language from your policy and procedures manual that addresses potential acts
of censorship instigated by library staff:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
11) Does your policy and procedures manual provide information about reasonable accommodation on the part of management
in regards to objections to work?
(_) yes
(_) no
(_) unsure or do not know
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Section IV. Incidents and Experiences Regarding Staff Censorship
1) Have you ever been involved with an incident of censorship by a staff member at your library?
(_) yes
(_) no
(_) unsure or do not know
2) If yes, please provide a brief narrative of the incident:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
3) If yes, for any number of censorship incidents, did you find that your policy and procedures manual assisted you in
the management of the censorship incident?
(_) yes
(_) no
(_) unsure or do not know
4) If you answered yes to question 3, please provide the language from your policy and procedures manual that assisted
you in the management of the censorship incident or provide a narrative of the circumstances and the solutions:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
4) In reference to the incident of censorship described above, what reason was given to justify the incident?
[check all that apply]
[_] religious freedoms/ protection
[_] gender rights/ protection
[_] sexuality
[_] political
[_] racial
[_] ethical
[_] intellectual or philosophical
[_] unknown
other __________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Section V. Evaluation of the Problem of Staff Censorship
1) In your experience, do you believe that acts of censorship by staff are a concern for libraries in general?
(_) yes
(_) no
(_) unsure or do not know
2) If yes, please evaluate the level of concern:
(_) minimal (an incident is highly improbable)
(_) possible (an incident may occur)
(_) likely (an incident probably will occur)
(_) very likely (an incident will occur)
(_) unsure or do not know
3) Do you believe that a censorship incident could occur without being discovered?
(_) yes
(_) no
(_) unsure or do not know
4) If a censorship incident occurs in which information availability is impeded through willful injunctions as acts of
conscience (material is not processed, miss-shelved, discarded, etc.), how significant is the problem?
(_) incident should be ignored
(_) incident should be generally addressed and staff reminded of policy and procedures manuals
(_) incident should be specifically addressed and policies and procedures manuals be reviewed and staff retrained.
(_) other
(_) unsure or do not know
5) How would you assess an incident when compared to a similar outcome due to staff mistakes, neglect or incompetence,
all of which are also potential barriers to providing access to information?
(_) both types of incidents should be ignored
(_) both types of incidents should be generally addressed and staff reminded of policy and procedures manuals
(_) censorship is equal to other problems in regards to information management.
(_) censorship is a greater problem than other information management problems
(_) other information management problems are greater than staff censorship problems
(_) unsure or do not know
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Section VI. Questions for the Individual About Censorship
1) Have you ever delayed, moved, removed or otherwise impaired the ordering, receipt, processing, delivery of or access
to information materials apart from following the guidelines of your institutions policies and procedures manuals?
(_) yes
(_) no
(_) unsure or do not know
2) If yes, what was your reason or justification for the incident?
[check all that apply]
[_] religious freedoms/ protection
[_] gender rights/ protection
[_] sexuality
[_] political
[_] racial
[_] ethical
[_] intellectual or philosophical
[_] unknown
other __________________________________________________
Submit
http://www.law.yale.edu/library/survey/
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