1969-1990: library books must "contribute to maintaining high moral standards"

Gallatly: no morality police

2 Policies on College Books Are Rescinded

LA Times, December 14, 1990
Terry Spencer

     A requirement that books purchased for Saddleback Community College District libraries "contribute to maintaining high moral standards" was eliminated this week after teachers complained that it was too vague.
     The board of trustees agreed on a 5-3 vote to rescind the 21-year-old policy, along with a requirement that books "stimulate intellectual curiosity."
     The majority agreed with teachers who argued that it was too difficult to decide what constitutes high moral standards and what does not.
     "The librarians should be choosing material that is academically sound and not be deciding whose morals to uphold," said Trustee Shirley Gellatly, who voted to rescind the policy.
     "There have been people elsewhere who have tried to ban 'The Wizard of Oz'—a book that my family enjoys—because they think there is no such thing as a good witch," student Trustee Kymberly Pine said.
     Trustee Iris Swanson said, "I see no conflict between saying that we are going to maintain high moral standards and academic freedom."
     Swanson, along with Trustees John C. Connolly and Joan J. Hueter, voted against rescinding the requirement.
     "If anybody in the community challenges what we teach or have in our library, it would befall the members of the board to address the issue," Connolly said.
     Irvine Valley College librarian Fred Forbes said the policy change will have no effect on his purchasing decisions.
     "The books and the materials that are purchased are related to our courses and their content and not bought just to get them," Forbes said. "That's the first level. Secondly, we buy reference books and other materials that are related to lifetime learning."
     Forbes said the library does not subscribe to "Playboy" or other magazines of that genre, which can sometimes be found in college libraries. "But if we did," he said, "it would be because a teacher requested it in order to illustrate something in advertising—or maybe a women's studies professor who wanted to have a discussion about such magazines. It wouldn't be for the students' titillation."
     Board President Marcia Milchiker and Trustees Robert L. Moore and Harriet S. Walther also voted to rescind the policy.