Libraries need to mind their own business
The Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper, has a great article on what public libraries should be focusing on.
The questions posed in the article are ones that every librarian doing programming or collection development should be asking themselves. Does this purchase or program represent a viewpoint disenfranchised by the media? Does it serve our local community or somehow play into the hands of big business? Does it give back a voice to those who are seldom heard?
Now of course we want books to circulate and our programs to be attended, but I agree that some libraries are looking far afield for programs and purchasing only books that are receiving major media attention. There has to be a balance between purchasing only bestsellers and purchasing only books that will moulder on shelves. But let's dance that balance and get it done. That dance is what makes library science fascinating and makes our jobs worth doing.