Selection vs Censorship

      A non-librarian supervisor recently mentioned to me that it appeared I was censoring my choices wisely.  Well, I kindly explained that I was selecting carefully.  I have a unique clientele and several missions to accomplish with a limited budget of course.   (All budgets to some extent are limited now as the never ending annual increases have reversed to cuts or standing still, regardless of library size for the most part).  Whenever you have more possible good choices than you can afford, why would any professional make a bad choice deliberately.  
     Librarians all serve a diverse population whether they are the general public, a professional group or inmates in an all male prison.  The range of interest and reading levels in lots of cases is wide and varied.  Within that range of interests, there are lots of materials, beneficial to the goal of the institution.  Prioritizing purchases to meet the goals of the institution and needs of the patrons, will almost always provide a clear cut reason for choosing not to purchase "junk."
      Lending libraries in Ben Franklin's day, the earliest in America were not about foolishness.  Dime novel paperbacks existed back then, but that is not what libraries were about. Sharing the new ideas, information and sciences, histories and leading literature of the period were the mission of libraries and probably still should be so more than a popularity contest with whichever sleazy or violent paperback one can find.
         And while the paperback format is useful, and abundant in this day and age, since pretty much anyone can print anything they want to in paperback format, getting a book published is not a sign of quality in message, print or anything else.  National reviewers - whether librarians, or magazine and newspaper critics, tend to focus on the sensational books that are popular in large metropolitan areas, or that they want to make popular in large metropolitan areas.  So while reviews can be a tool, they are often not an unbiased informative tool, but a continuation of advertising.
      I encourage all librarians to have a clear mission for their library and SELECT their materials with that in mind.   You cannot please all the people all the time, but you can do your best to serve them with a well-stocked library collection.