Republic file photo The Bartholomew County Library is shown.
The Bartholomew County Public Library has released a survey seeking input about the teen section department and materials there following a lengthy public debate at library board meetings last year.
The survey can be accessed at forms.gle/aC6bww7W12XH3Ptr9. A link is also available on the library’s Facebook page, and hard copies are available at the library’s service desks. The survey will run through Jan. 27.
“We want everybody to take the survey,” said library Director Jason Hatton. “We want to hear from as many voices as we can regarding what people see and what people want from the teen department.”
Respondents are required to state whether they have a library card and are 18 years or older.
There are three main survey questions. The first two ask whether respondents agree with the following statements:
1) The teen area is a safe, welcoming space for all that meets the library’s mission to serve as the community crossroads- connecting people, ideas, information, and experiences to empower everyone on their journey of lifelong learning.
2) The teen collection provides relevant materials that meet our diverse community’s needs.
Respondents have the option to strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree or mark themselves as neutral. They are also able to write in additional thoughts on these subjects.
The third question asks what suggestions they have for the department.
Hatton said that the survey was intended to be as open-ended as possible so that people can share their thoughts and feelings.
“We’ve heard at board meetings that some people have strong opinions, one way or the other, about what the teen department is, what the teen department should be, what materials should be offered, all those pieces,” he said. “And we just wanted to, as we’re investigating what the teen department is and should be here, we want to just give people an opportunity to express those in a more formal way than just at board meetings.”
The survey comes in the wake of a series of library board meetings in which some advocated certain teen section books be moved to another area of the library or that they be banned from the facility, while others decried those sentiments as censorship. Many of the books in question dealt with LGBTQ issues.
In addition to the survey, library staff are also working on a diversity audit of all items within the teen collection.
According to Hatton, they will eventually compile findings from the survey and audit, along with a recent study of best practices at other libraries, and use this information to determine what the teen department is doing well and where it needs to improve.
“We’ve had lots of emotion at the board meetings,” he said. “We’ve had lots of emotional opinions. And again, some of that will come with the survey, but we want to balance that with making sure we have data to also look at what it is, rather than just thoughts and feelings about what the collection represents.”
The library board’s next meeting will be held at 4 p.m. Monday in the Red Room at the Columbus branch.
