Librarian's Book Choice Sparks Controversy at Ohio State's Mansfield Campus

-- Library Journal, 4/25/2006

Two faculty members filed charges of sexual harassment against a Ohio State University, Mansfield (OSUM) librarian, contending his defense of a controversial book they call hateful and homophobic created a hostile workplace environment. The charges have been withdrawn, but the tension lingers. Scott Savage head of reference and instructional services at OSUM's Bromfield library, suggested four books for the program, including David Kupelian's The Marketing of Evil, published by the right-wing WorldNet Daily (WND), where Kupelian is managing editor. In his email suggesting titles, which also included Rick Santorum's It Takes a Family and David Horowitz's The Professors, Savage admitted he hadn't read all the titles he suggested, but wanted to suggest titles that "confront the accepted wisdom" of the university. When faculty members objected to Kupelian's book, saying it lacked sufficient academic merit, Savage defended his choice, and over several email messages the matter escalated.

OSUM Bromfield Library director Beth Burns confirmed that Savage is considering a counterclaim against the university. The controversy, which OSUM dean and director Evie Freeman characterized in faculty meeting as a "colossal misunderstanding due to the use of email," has now taken on a life of its own in the press, thanks in part to press releases from the Alliance Defense Fund, which charged that universities are hostile to Christians and conservatives. Over a month ago, however, according to the faculty assembly's public minutes, one of the complainants, OSUM associate professor of English Norman Jones, told colleagues he had personally worked things out with Savage. Jones contends he was not against Savage's choice of conservative books, but that Kupelian's book simply did not meet sufficient standards of academic rigor. "I feel like [Savage] and I are more on the same page than I had realized," Jones said at a faculty meeting, according to the minutes. "His language called into question my academic credibility. It's clear that he deeply regrets his statements."