Page 30 - BCALA Spring 2018

30 | BCALA NEWS | Volume 45, Issue 2 So it is in the writing of policy that
we have to be most actively striving for neutrality.
In order to write good policy,
we must ensure that librarians are well-trained and attentive to the importance of open access to materials, space and services.
We also must ensure that there
is diversity of opinion among
those writing the policy, and we must ensure that policy is written in a work environment where differences of opinion can be freely expressed and ultimately included in the final product. Even with the best of policies, however, we have to acknowledge that community passions may hamper the library’s ability to implement policy.
I am sure all of us can think of examples challenges that threatened our ability to be balanced! But there are also examples of good policy that has been able to withstand
the challenges. Let me give you one example from my home city of Boston.
A branch library in the Boston Public Library system once served a white, immigrant Irish population. It was given an endowment that would serve the community for years to come. A policy was written to guide the way funds would be used to purchase materials for the community. It was a good - and neutral - policy. The community served by that branch library is now predominantly African –American, and the acquisitions policy now serves their community needs and priorities. Not only did this policy easily translate its service from one population to another, but it also protected the endowment from being diluted to pay for services beyond its scope.
We all can agree that what we do as librarians is guided by our
passionate commitment to educate, inform, and enrich library users. How we do that, though, must
be guided by sound policy which ensures we are open to and useful to all members of our community.
That’s what I mean by being a neutral organization.
I am not suggesting that we do not have social goals. I don’t think we should ever be indifferent to injustice. We do not have to be all neutral or all for advocacy/social justice.
I can imagine that there is an idle ground, but I would err on the side of neutrality as a starting place for all communities. In fact, I want
to go a step further and say that I think an active, engaged, and continually reaffirmed neutrality is the first rung on the ladder to advocacy and social justice.