The subject of Collection Policies came to mind last week when the Southern Baptist Convention had a proposed resolution expressing concern that recent books and movies about heaven are not biblically accurate. How does your Collection Policy deal with such media?
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I agree about the Christian materials. I am not ordering too much fiction because a lot of it is available at the Public library. We would also exclude the questionable books on heaven. What I tell people about heaven is for real etc. is that if the Lord Jesus would not allow the Apostle Paul to speak of the unspeakable things he saw when he was caught up into the 3rd heaven, why would He allow a 4 year old boy.
Thanks. I always love to look at others policies.
I'm going to wade into this discussion. I asked this question about collection- gift-selection policies some time back, and Buford Carter sent me 10 or so links from churches describing their policies. We didn't have one- it was in the mind of the woman (in her 80's) who started the library in the late 80's. Today, I believe we need something in place that can help us make wise choices. I do not agree with the gentleman- according to whom, what denomination. In a seminary library, all points of view, and questionable authors (imho) on those points of view are included for the education, broadening, and training of seminary students on the graduate level. They should be able to handle controversial things like TULIP, and Covenant Theology, and Word-Faith, and Church growth etc. But the average person could be led astray. In my library, I feel as if I am guide, and guardian of what goes in. We have posted a sign encouraging people to be Bereans in reading materials that are not in accordance with our statement of faith. We cannot read everything. I do practice discernment, and read a lot of reviews on authors I am not familiar with-
Our gift and selection policy gives me the right to exclude, and that's important (at least to me). One lady wanted to know why we didn't include Veggie Tales (because pickles, cukes, and tomatoes) are not supposed to depict the character, and characters of the Bible. I excluded probably some dvds for children that others have included. I am more strict with them (as Nell Hunter says) because the parents need to be confident about sending their children into the library to choose books.
"Biblical truth portrayed in children's media should conform as far as is possible to what the Bible says in meaning and action" - there are no perfect venues for kids, but I can get REAL close.
We do not accept provisional gifts, and donated materials are subject to the approval of the library staff. I have a very astute Advisory Committee (I teacher/veterinarian, 1 retired engineer, 1 library staff, and a businesswoman) if I have any question about something- someone else looks at it.
I'm breathing a sigh of relief that our policy also lays out for them what things we will not take insofar as physical condition. I've had people clean out dearly departed Aunt Annie's Attic, and bring all the moldy, smelly, falling apart books to me. This is to be avoided.
I am in the process of education about donations- It's on our website, out where people can pick one up, and I'm advertising it in the churchwide e-mail news. If anyone would like to see ours, I can send a link or an e-mail. I looked at big church policies, and little church policies, and of several denominations, and then adapted it to fit our circumstances. I believe it's needed.
To: Kay Goldberger
Kay, I will respond to items in the same order as listed in your post on June 18, 2014.
Materials that teach contrary to Biblical principles:
I doubt that everyone in your church could agree on what the Biblical principles are that certain books (arguably) contradict. Even if the people could agree on what a particular Biblical principle is, they might still disagree on whether the book contradicts it.
Materials that teach contrary to the doctrine of the Denomination:
I doubt that everyone in your church could agree on what the doctrine of the Denomination is that certain books (arguably) contradict. Even if the people could agree on what the doctrine of the Denomination is, they might still disagree on whether the book contradicts it.
I have control over what is included in the Library collection:
Even if every member of your church could agree that a particular book contradicts a Biblical principle or the doctrine of the Denomination, there remains the question of whether a member ought to be able to read the book. It appears that your “control over what is included in the Library collection” makes you the gatekeeper of ideas.
Everything sold in a Christian bookstore is not necessarily Biblically accurate:
Whether this is true is a matter of opinion. Surely someone, somewhere, objects to almost everything in the bookstore. If every item objected to were removed, there would be very little left.
Newer Christians do not necessarily have the gift of discernment:
It appears that your “control over what is included in the Library collection” makes you the judge of whether newer Christians have a sufficient “gift of discernment” to merit the right to read a book. It is doubtful that all newer Christians have the same level or gift of discernment, so you are putting newer Christians into an indiscriminate mass or group, treating all of them alike without regard for particulars.
Confusing materials to them:
Here again, you are lumping newer Christians in an arbitrary manner.
Items that remain true to Scripture:
You have the same kind of problems here as in some paragraphs above.
As librarians we should support the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights. The accuracy, or Biblical accuracy, of recent books and movies about heaven is a matter than be determined by each reader or viewer.
American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/in...
I realize that the Collection Policy of a church library is not the same as a public library. Especially for adults it is easy enough to find a book on Amazon.com and read the reivews of many books. Some are very critical and others are very favorable. If Amazon does not have the review of a particular book, someone else probably will.
Perhaps the church’s Goal for Selection is to maintain a balanced and broadly representative collection of information and websites for reference and research. Or perhaps the Goal is something else.
The church I attend does not have enough money to have a library at the church. I volunteer one day a week to shelve books in one of the many branches of the Houston Public Library. I see mothers collecting books and movies for their kids, and probably groups of kids. The people at the reference desks are very helpful.
I'm not sure what a "resolution expressing concern" would entail to the subject member churches and their libraries.
As regards to accuracy, one might have to ask, "accuracy relating to what version, and what translation of the bible they might be referring to and relating to which specific items they deem "not Biblically accurate." Since the Bible is a collection of stories told by different writers, at different times and situations, and canonized by men, should there be modern revelations, would they discount these because they are not in the Bible? Even concordances differ to meaning in passages of the Bible...would we be subject to a committee's interpretation? And who decides the make up of the committee.
It reminds me of the list of banned books; books unavailable to inmates in prison; some selected by officers, some by librarians, and some by...well...there really was little criteria except they might find "a way to misuse the information within."