Collecting Potentialy Ofensive Material

One of the first things I was told was told in my collections development class was that a librarian must collect materials that match the needs and interests of their community. If the community is interested in materials on a certain subject, a librarian should not avoid collecting those materials even if they fear the subject will be controversial or because they have a personal dislike for a subject. This makes sense to me, but I always wondered how would I approach collecting material about a subject that was controversial or even one I personally did not care for? After giving it some thought I came up with two strategies that I could use as guidelines, one for fictional material and another for non- fiction. I will give examples of both of these strategies.

Approach to collecting potentially controversial non-fiction material

For these examples I will call the controversial material subject X.

Step 1: Just the Facts

When creating a non-fiction collection devoted to subject X I will begin by selecting materials that are based on purely factual and or scientific information. Books of this nature would have titles like The Facts about Subject X, the History of Subject X, Subject X: What it is. I would try to find works that were authoritative and as unbiased as possible. The general information book would form the core of my collection.
Step 2: Subject X as it relates to other subject
The next kind of book I would look for to add to my collection would be works that explore the relationship between subject X and other important topics. These materials would have titles such as Subject X and Psychology, Subject X in Art, International Attitudes toward Subject X, the Economy and subject X, etc. As with step 1 I would look for the most authoritative and unbiased works.

Step 3: Opinion Pieces

After covering the general facts about subject X and its relationship with other subjects I would move on to collecting works that represent the most common attitudes and beliefs about subject X. Attitudes about a controversial subject usually fall into one of three categories 1. People who think subject X is awesome and the best thing since sliced bread 2. People who think subject X is not awesome and may potentially destroy civilization as we know it and 3. Moderates that feel that there are both positive and negative aspects to subject X. I will try to select works from each of these categories for my collection. I will also try to select works that give calmly stated reasons for their beliefs on subject X and avoid works that are just long rants against other viewpoints.

Step 4: Popularity and requests
After I have completed all the other steps I will acquire materials that have been requested by patrons and famous works that I know are popular even if they do not meet the criteria of being unbiased or calm thought out arguments.

Approach to collecting controversial fiction material

Compared to the multistep plan I created for the non-fiction materials my approach to collecting fiction dealing with subject X is relatively simple. I will research what is available and choose a selection based on these criteria, literary merit, the skill in which subject X is dealt with in material, and last but not least, popular demand.
By following these guidelines I hope to build a well balanced collection even for the material that could cause controversy.