In this Calvin and Hobbes cartoon by Bill Watterson, Calvin doesn't find what he needs at his public library. This raises some questions about collection decisions and PDA:
- How should libraries who feel committed to PDA respond to requests such as Calvin's?
- How are PDA systems and policies crafted to keep libraries from buying books they might feel are not a good use of their resources (like books on popular graffiti profanity)?
- How do we respond in a way that will keep patrons from feel like they don't know what the library is spending their money on?
These are some interesting questions. I think that libraries that are committed to PDA should respond to a request like Calvin's simply and honestly. If the library thinks the book Calvin has request will be of little or no interest to other patron simply tell Calvin that. Also, explain that the library has limited resources and has difficult decisions to make of PDA. Calvin might not like the answer but should understand it.
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