October 8–10, 2008 hosted by Michelle Martinez
Summary
I've received two email responses regarding collection development policies for pornography and erotic materials in a library. One librarian just sent me a link to the general policies while the other librarian from Sonoma State University saying they had no specific policy regarding sensitive materials though his library did have them because of human sexuality courses or the occasional graphic novel that turned out to be more graphic than expected, but this would be separated from the YA collection and be put into the main one.
Connie Foster, who responded directly to the forum, believes libraries should have policies regarding explicit materials "because sooner or later collections will be scrutinized."
I think having a policy on hand cares for everyone's best interests: the patrons will have a better understanding of why an item is in the collection and be able to view the policy, it (ideally) spares the librarian from having to repeatedly explain the unspoken/unwritten policy of collection development for the sensitive areas, and it also allows the collection development librarians a better structure for ordering materials.