Pubdate: Thu, 04 Aug 2005
Source: Arkansas Times (AR)
Copyright: 2005 Arkansas Times Inc.
Contact:  http://www.arktimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/583
Author: Doug Smith

DRUG-REFORM BOOKS NOT APPRECIATED

Not Welcome: Some Libraries Reject Books On Drug Reform

You can give a drug book to a library, but you can't make the library 
shelve it.

Headquartered in Fayetteville, the Drug Policy Education Group, which hopes 
to liberalize Arkansass drug laws, has donated more than $8,000 worth of 
books, videos, booklets and article reprints to 48 public and college 
libraries across the state since 2002. DPEG has just completed a survey to 
determine whether the donated materials are placed on the libraries 
shelves. Materials not shelved are commonly sold at library book sales at 
extremely low prices, which is not only a waste of our resources, but also 
does not accomplish our goal of making these materials available to the 
general public, a DPEG report on the survey said.

DPEG studied the donation retention rates for eight books and three 
booklets sent to all the libraries. It found that retention rates diverged 
as widely as possible  from 100 percent to 0 percent  and that the reasons 
for the discrepancy were not entirely clear, although high rejection rates 
seemed to reflect the personal opinions/prejudices of individual librarians 
more than factors such as the size and location of the libraries.

College libraries had the highest retention rate as a group, perhaps not 
surprisingly. Arkansas State University at Jonesboro retained all 11 items 
surveyed. Henderson State University at Arkadelphia and Lyon College at 
Batesville retained 10. The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the 
University of Central Arkansas at Conway and Southern Arkansas University 
at Magnolia retained nine. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 
at Little Rock and Arkansas Tech University at Russellville retained six. 
Harding University at Searcy retained five. Information about the 
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff could not be obtained, DPEG said.

Some community and regional libraries also did not respond to the survey.

Of those libraries that did respond, the Central Arkansas area had the 
highest retention rates. Six of the eight libraries that received materials 
responded; their average retention was eight of the 11 materials, or 75 
percent. Malvern retained all 11, Hot Springs 10, Conway and Little Rock 
eight, Benton and North Little Rock seven. Morrilton and Lonoke did not 
respond.

The next highest retention rates were in the Northeast Region, where six of 
eight libraries responded. The average number of materials retained by the 
six libraries was six, or 56 percent. Newport retained nine, Paragould and 
Searcy eight, Walnut Ridge and Jonesboro six, and Wynne none.

Three libraries out of five reported in Southwest Arkansas, retaining an 
average of five donations, or 48 percent. Magnolia retained nine, Texarkana 
six, El Dorado one.

Seven of 13 libraries responded in Northwest Arkansas. The average number 
of donations retained was 4.5, or 42 percent. Fort Smith retained nine, 
Fayetteville eight, Mountain Home seven, Rogers four, Van Buren three, 
Dardanelle one, and Harrison none. DPEG said that Springdale and 
Bentonville were not part of the analysis because we did not have budget to 
include them in our 2002 donation round.

In Southeast Arkansas, two of the four recipient libraries responded. 
Helena kept four of the donated items, and Pine Bluff kept three, for an 
average of 3.5 or 32 percent.

That the highest retention rate occurred in the most densely populated 
region of the state (Central) and the lowest rate occurred in the least 
populated (Southeast) suggested to DPEG that A primary consideration in 
tolerance toward reform literature may lie in numbers. Librarians for 
inhabitants of more highly populated areas may be more likely to feel safe 
in considering topics involving personal behavior viewed as contrary to 
accepted public norms. Libraries serving greater populations would be 
expected to provide materials on a broader array of topics.

There were no reports of patron complaints about the donated materials, 
though DPEG admitted that input from librarians was limited. Still, the 
input from librarians was sufficient for DPEG to conclude:

High rejection rates of our donated materials seem to stem from staff 
decisions based on personal opinion. Perceptions about our mission or drug 
policy reform in general are likely factors in those decisions. One library 
director in a zero-retention facility stated that the community was 
conservative and that drugs (meth) were a serious problem there, causing 
him to conclude that the public would not accept our materials. He was not 
willing to accept a public outcry on this matter.

The report listed four options for DPEG in trying to improve library 
retention rates for its donated materials: Find alternative recipients 
within a region to replace recipients who have not retained any DPEG 
materials. Try to visit personally with key library staff at low-retention 
facilities. Ask DPEG supporters to request its materials at their local 
libraries, targeting low-retention libraries especially. And Publicize this 
report to highlight how librarians personal opinions/prejudices about 
critical issues control the selection of public library materials available 
to entire communities. 
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MAP posted-by: Beth