Application Essay for MLIS Program
Censorship of books by librarians.
Note from the author.
This is the essay I submitted with my application to a Master of Library Information and Science program a few months back. I start this fall.
The subject is the censorship of books by librarians, which is a disturbing but real trend. I had intended to update and expand the essay before publication here, but life happened, and I was unable to do the necessary research. Perhaps I’ll save that for a future post.
Speaking of censorship, I redacted personal information. Cancellation is a concern I have, and certainly I can’t afford to be so ill-used now that I’m heading back to school. In any event, it does not affect the main content of the essay.
~T. C.
It will be 15 years in August of 2023 since I graduated from [my alma mater]. Rather than atrophied in those intervening years I have become a better writer and researcher. Some of this can be attributed to maturity, the wisdom of years. But much of it is due to my copious reading and the subsequent reviews of those books I publish on Substack. Indeed, I have found I possess a great gift for summarizing complex arguments into basic ideas. My return to academia at age 37 will undoubtedly be even more successful than my first time.
I intend to achieve a masters in library and information science. It is the next step in advancing my career at the [local library]. Since 2016 I have worked for [the local library] as a Truck Driver, although that official job title does not encapsulate all that I do. I also shelve, process new magazines and books, provide excellent customer service and cooperate with the social workers and teachers at the [local prison] to provide lesson materials to the inmates.
Of course, I primarily drive a van to 128 nursing homes and retirement communities throughout [the region]. I pass out library materials hand selected by our Customer Service Specialists according to the needs and tastes of our patrons. Some of those patrons can’t even get out of bed, so they are dependent on my service, which brings the library to their door. I have been told that I am like Santa Clause. I like being Santa Clause very much, indeed.
Still, my special talents and background will be of better use as a librarian. In recent years there has been a rise in what Andrew Doyle (2023) calls “a bizarre militancy from librarians who are keen to ‘decolonise’ their collections or berate people for their reading habits” (para 13).
Libraries frequently deal with calls for censorship. Traditionally, such calls would come from the religious right wanting to moderate content like sex, violence and - in the case of Harry Potter - depictions of magic. Today, those calls are coming from the political left and from librarians themselves.
One alarming example comes from Homerton College at Cambridge. Archivists there are uploading their collection of children's literature to the internet and placing trigger warnings on classics deemed harmful. One such warning was placed on Dr. Suess for alleged racism. The archivists said per Harding (2021) “it would be ‘a dereliction of our duty as gatekeepers to allow such casual racism to go unchecked’” (para 8).
The use of the word “gatekeepers” is interesting. It suggests the archivists have taken it upon themselves to decide which books are suitable for public consumption. Of course, the role of a librarian is not gatekeeper but gateway. He or she facilitates access to books rather than limits it.
Limiting access to books does not necessarily mean a legal ban. It also can be using trigger warnings as discussed above. It may be removing items from library collections. The ultimate act of limiting access is book burning. Not only are the contents destroyed, but the burning itself is a powerful and disturbing symbol.
In 2019 a school board in Ontario, Canada both removed and burned library books. A total of 4,700 books were taken from the libraries of 30 schools after a committee deemed them outdated and used negative stereotypes of indigenous people. Around 30 of those books “were burned for ‘educational purposes’ and then the ashes were used as fertilizer to plant a tree” (Dawson, 2021).
With pressure for censorship coming from both sides of the political spectrum as well as from within, librarians must recommit to the principles of the first amendment.
My BA is in journalism. I also have a certificate in creative writing. On Substack I am a film and book critic as well as a fiction writer. The importance of the first amendment is known to me by way of education and by practice. An MLIS will allow me to bring this experience and dedication to my local library ensuring we remain a gateway for knowledge, a free market for the exchange of ideas and a place for lifelong learning.
References
Dawson, T. (2021, September 7). Book Burning at Ontario Francophone Schools as “Gesture of Reconciliation” Denounced. National Post. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/book-burning-at-ontario-francophone-schools-as-gesture-of-reconciliation-denounced
Doyle, A. (2023, January 6). A Puritanical Assault on the English Language. Quillette. https://quillette.com/2023/01/06/a-puritanical-assault-on-the-english-language/
Harding, E., & Henry, J. (2021, October 24). Cambridge University Archive Slaps “Trigger Warnings” on Classic Children's Books. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10126173/Cambridge-University-archive-slaps-trigger-warnings-classic-childrens-books.html
Congrats and good luck!
Good luck!