Mia Fierro

Issue Paper
The Impossibility, but Importance of Neutrality

Traditionally, libraries have been neutral. Recently, there has been debate whether it

should remain that way, or if it’s even possible. The idea behind neutrality is that libraries must

stay as unbiased as possible in order to better assist patrons, but many librarians have argued

that nothing about the library can be or should be neutral. Nothing about the objects that we

purchase, the programming we create, and the services we provide can possibly be neutral. I

absolutely see why that argument is being made and why it stands, but I am afraid that

neutrality is essential in a library in order for libraries to continue to survive, and for librarians to

continue being agents of change.

First, we must try and define neutrality. Neutrality might sound negative at first. In Are

Librarians Neutral? Highlights from the Midwinter President’s Program, Em Claire Knowles

acknowledges that “Too often neutrality is presented as what occurs when we don’t do or think

anything.” The term ‘neutral’ does seem to have negative connotations. The word suggests

being passive, indifferent, and irresponsible. Chris Bourg, another panelist, begins their

statement with a definition from the dictionary: “Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English

Dictionary both define neutrality as the state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict,

disagreement, or war. Neutrality, by definition, is not taking sides.” And James LaRue defines

neutrality as having “a precise and essential meaning: we do not deny access to library services

and resources.” These definitions provide three different sides to what neutrality is. In the

context of being a librarian working in a diverse library, we must consider that every patron who

comes in is a different person with different needs and different opinions. Neutrality, then, is an

approach to always siding with the patron and their pursuit of knowledge.

Throughout the course, we have been met with various examples on what keeps people

away from the library. In the TED Talk titled A librarian’s case against overdue fines, Dawn

Wacek mentions a few reasons why people stay away from the library. The one she tackles the

most is late fines. People are afraid of accumulating fines, or they owe too many fines already,
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and so borrowing materials is more anxiety-inducing than helpful. One of Wacek’s colleagues

spoke to someone who said that she would not get a library card because it was like taking out

a credit card she couldn’t afford. Kathleen de la Peña McCook, another librarian who

participated in the Are Librarians Neutral? panel, shared an anecdote: something in her house

had broken so she called in someone to fix it. The worker saw that she had signs that

announced her political views and he was hesitant to walk in: “The worker...said, “You might not

want me to come in. I am a deplorable.” And I said, “Why would you say that?” And he said,

“Your kind of people...don’t like me, and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” That happened

in her home, but she quickly asked him how he felt about the library and he also didn’t feel

welcomed there for similar reasons. Listening to the reasons why people stay away from the

library always hurts, especially because we as future librarians know that these fears are many

times based on misconceptions or false assumptions.

If factors like those keep people away from the library, we should consider how the

absence of neutrality would affect people feeling welcomed. Emily Knox, another panelist in Are

Libraries Neutral?, brought up a perfect example. She brings up the Black Lives Matter

movement:

Black Lives Matter is not controversial in my family at all. Right? It is probably

controversial in many of your families. There are probably many people out here whose
families see Black Lives Matter as a hate group. What does it mean to support it in your
libraries? Does not supporting Black Lives Matter make the library neutral? No. It means
you’ve made a decision.

I argue that she is half correct. She is right to mention that some people might see Black Lives

Matter as a hate group, although we know it is not. But, if a patron who has been misinformed

walks into a library believing that BLM is a hate group and they see a BLM banner hanging on

the wall, would they feel safe and welcomed? Ideally we’d hope that if they see it at a library, an

institution of learning and guidance, that they draw the conclusion that they might be

misinformed and want to learn more about it. But, that’s unrealistic. Most likely, the person might
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feel like they’re not welcomed anymore because the library supports a movement that they are

afraid of or angry at. Perhaps a different approach would be more fruitful. We could create

displays that focus on Black literature, and we can invite Black leaders and organizers to

participate in diverse programming. Creating these displays and this programming is not neutral,

but it is remaining at a close proximity that works as an invitation for patrons to become

informed and draw better conclusions.

Libraries are and aren’t neutral. It’s a catch-22. The fact that we strive towards

information literacy isn’t neutral. The way we advocate for equity and inclusiveness, isn’t neutral.

So, being truly neutral isn’t possible. The work we do cannot be defined as neutral, but we

should stay as close as possible to it as we can when serving patrons. The factors that keep

people away from the library are many, and we should try as much as we can to minimize those

factors. Neutrality will ensure that people will come back and they will trust us. It feels like

there's a scale that can threaten to tip into one side more than another, causing feelings of

exclusion, or even actual exclusion. Instead of being a library for anyone and everyone, it might

make someone feel unwelcome if their beliefs do not align with the library’s. There are too many

dangers with the absence of neutrality, so we should strive towards neutrality so that we can

successfully push patrons towards information and learning.

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Sources

Are Libraries Neutral: Highlights from the Midwinter President’s Program, June 1, 2018

https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2018/06/01/are-libraries-neutral/

A librarian’s case against overuse book fines by Dawn Wacek, February 2018

https://www.ted.com/talks/dawn_wacek_a_librarian_s_case_against_overdue_book_fines?

language=en