A June display on Gay Pride Month at the West Oakland branch of the Oakland (Calif.) Public Library triggered several verbal complaints about the use of a photo of a black man and a white man kissing passionately. Interim Library Director Julie Odofin told American Libraries that she asked that the photo be removed in order to review it and investigate the proper complaint process.
However, this prompted charges of censorship by library staff, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the public at a meeting of the library commissioners on September 27. After Odofin argued that the problem was not censorship but the lack of clear procedures on handling complaints about displays, the commission agreed to review a staff-drafted policy at a future meeting.
The new policy will prohibit the removal of display items because of their content and establish a procedure for reviewing written complaints.
Posted October 11, 1999.