Report: “While Book Ban Attempts Increase Nationally, One Oregon Library Has Kept Requests Low”

From The Oregonian:

One Oregon library is defying national trends and keeping the number of challenges down to single digits almost every year.

The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library has addressed concerns while keeping its collection more complete by using three key strategies: conversations with patrons, compromises and specific policies.

This, director Ashlee Chavez says, allows the library to fulfill its responsibility of serving an entire community — “people of all ages, all backgrounds and all lifestyles.”

The Corvallis library receives around six challenges a year on average, Chavez said. In most scenarios, patrons asked to remove or relocate specific books because they seemed too explicit for the intended audience. The challenges, she said, did not appear to single out any groups of people.

“There’s not too much political divisiveness in Corvallis,” Cleo {Sandler] said. The high schooler serves as the student representative on the library’s advisory board and is a member of the queer community. “The people who are against (LGBTQ+ issues) and would want to ban those books are going to be the minority.”

Still, some people have tried.

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One of the biggest ways Corvallis has kept the number of challenged book requests low, Chavez said, is by making connections with library patrons. The challenge form isn’t available on the library’s website; library officials hope that people will talk their concerns through with staff first.

“When someone comes up and asks or shares a concern, the first thing we do is try and have a conversation,” she said.

“I’m not here to try and change someone’s mind,” Chavez added. “It’s not something I think is gonna happen, and I don’t think I can really do it within the limits of my job.”

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Filed under: Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Public Libraries