Arriving Somewhere

I meant to discuss digital library stuff today but something else has crossed my radar.

In The Loneliness of a Conservative Librarian David Durant writes about the political bias faced by moderate and conservative librarians in our professional lives.

The problem is not that most librarians have liberal or leftist views. It is that the overwhelming prevalence of such views has created a politicized atmosphere of groupthink and even intolerance, in which left-wing politics permeate the library profession and are almost impossible to avoid.

and

Librarians are supposed to stand for intellectual freedom, diversity of opinion, and providing access to materials that represent all points of view. How can we do that when many of us are intolerant of dissenting views?

How any librarian can disagree with his observations is beyond me. With the list of guest speakers (e.g., Nader, Clarke, Goodman, RFK Jr.) and the recent resolution about the war in Iraq it is blatantly obvious how politically active the ALA (American Library Association) has become.

I consider myself moderate, I welcome opinion that are contrary to mine and it is certainly my colleagues’ right to exercise free speech but they need to keep it to the proper forum. Join a political action group or hold your diatribes in the break room, but keep it out of my office and our “professional” organisations. It is not the place of a professional organisation to get politically involved in matters that are not relevant to said profession.

I love my job, but I am scared by Mr. Durant’s following statement because it seems all too true:

I am so tired of having left-of-center politics thrust on me that I have retreated into my work, cutting myself off from much of the broader profession. When I do go to a professional meeting, I sit silently. When the conservative-bashing starts, as it so often does, I know better than to complain.

I have been lucky not to experience this at any professional meetings, but outspoken colleagues have been present on the job for as long as I’ve been involved in libraries. When they start ranting, I just shut up.

Conservator has a response to K.G. Schneider’s response to Mr. Durant’s article.

technorati tag: library, librarians