[Michlib-l] Michigan libraries encouraged to report challenges to materials

[Elizabeth Madson]

During the Interest Group Meetup and Idea Exchange poster presentation at
the 2017 MLA Conference, librarians throughout Michigan shared experiences
they've had with challenges and formal Requests for Reconsideration related
to materials in their collections.

We discussed the need to educate and prepare our staff and boards to
respond appropriately to challenges that range from subtle, such as the
patron who flips magazines over in the public reading area that is used as
personal office space, to formal, such as a signed, submitted Request for
Reconsideration form for a specific item.

In 2017, only 8 Michigan libraries reported challenges (non-confidential)
to the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. Yet in the short discussion at
MLA Conference, almost everyone could share an example of materials that
had been challenged.

Michigan libraries that receive a formal Request for Reconsideration form,
and have completed the process of committee review, board recommendation,
and final determination, are encouraged to report the challenge to the ALA
Office for Intellectual Freedom. The challenge reporting form,
http://www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport/report, is a simple, yet
important way of sharing this information and accessing resources to
support efforts that strengthen the freedom to read.

Michigan library staff who are interested in issues related to intellectual
freedom are also encouraged to join and participate in the MLA Intellectual
Freedom Interest Group: http://www.milibraries.org/membership/interest-
groups/.

Elizabeth Madson
Library Director
Chesterfield Township Library
50560 Patricia Ave.
Chesterfield, MI 48051
Direct Tel: (586) 598-9048

Tel: (586) 598-4900 ext. 237

emadson at chelibrary.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail3.mcls.org/pipermail/michlib-l/attachments/20180123/e618df29/attachment.html>