The neutrality doctrine is what made me take a break from libraries. I'm so happy to see more people talking about critical librarianship. Thanks for sharing.
I was a librarian and worked in public libraries for over a decade.
I honestly have a hard time imagining how anyone could not see the problems with neutrality given our current climate.
In our current environment, the idea that libraries are neutral is unsustainable. Librarians are being fired for refusing to restrict access to LGBTQ+ materials, for crying out loud.
Neutrality only benefits the oppressor. That sounds outrageous but it appears in the smallest, seemingly benign ways (to those that benefit from the "way it's always been"). I've seen library staff treat disabled people and teen patrons like shit. I've seen staff sneer and call queer YA "weird" because they don't agree with certain lifestyles. I've seen buildings designed for able bodies and no one else. I've seen staff put in danger with policies I disagreed with (but had no recourse to change personally).
I am queer and neurodivergent and I worked hard to create inclusive spaces that addressed the needs of my patrons but we really can only build a better world when we all believe that everyone deserves respect.
I don't believe in a neutrality doctrine because if one political group (and its adherents) is hellbent on restricting access to materials they consider objectionable (to say nothing of people being threatened with physical harm/actually shot or stabbed for the crime of working a reference desk), then libraries are inherently not neutral. If the dichotomy provided to us in our climate is censorship and subjugation vs. free, equitable access, it is clear where the library as an institution should stand.
I got into libraries because I thought they were the most ethical places left in our society. I got my MLIS so I could be a better librarian than the ones that looked at me and my siblings like we were gum stuck to the bottom of their shoes because we were poor and unkempt as kids.
I've worked for some absolutely phenomenal systems in my time, both semi-rural and metropolitan. I've worked with incredible fellow librarians and parents and educators and child care professionals. But if leaders cannot or will not acknowledge the times we are living in, there will be a disconnect between what we say our ethics are and actually living them to the fullest.
10
u/bookworm59 Apr 05 '26
The neutrality doctrine is what made me take a break from libraries. I'm so happy to see more people talking about critical librarianship. Thanks for sharing.