Politics and Collection Development: Behaviors in Library Collecting Based on Political Climates

Over the last several years libraries in the United States have dealt with an increasing number of book challenges and calls for censorship of materials. The challenges and calls for censorship are no longer only from library patrons, but now include national organizations and even local and state legislators. Some of these actions have moved to criminalize librarians and curtail first amendment rights. Due to this new climate, it is important to examine the effect these culture wars have on library collection development decisions. This quantitative study seeks to answer that question with a nationwide survey of library professionals.