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Should some books be banned or booted out of libraries? That seems to be a no-brainer until you take another, calm, reasoned look. Rephrase that question to say, “Should some books be ‘screened’ or ‘removed from general circulation’ or controversial volumes made available through interlibrary loans?” and you have a whole different discussion.

And the discussion itself is where much of the “meat” rests.

That was basically the view at Bishop T.K. Gorman High School on Thursday evening as 15 concerned, presumably Smith County residents, gathered in a public meeting to discuss the merits of having “The Golden Compass” on the shelves of this Catholic library.

This kind of mental exercise appeals to me because I enjoy taking repeated glances into subjects that are considered closed. A thoughtful conclusion may be the most valuable possession anyone has. Why let someone else give them to you?

My stand on religion, for instance, is that if anyone can show me what I believe and why I believe is false, I’ll adjust to the truth. This has kept me listening for years — respectfully — to the ideas and opinions of others and seeing if they have merit. I don’t make hasty decisions, but I’ll give opinions a listen.

I hope everyone is that flexible and prepared for continuous re-examination of faith issues. How else can errors be avoided? Such honesty seems too risky, I understand, for some. But through this lengthy process I have more confidence I’m on the right track — so far.

And the process was what was important, Gorman Principal Jim Franz told me after the calm and thoughtful meeting.

“Whatever the outcome is, how we got there is more important to me than a single book,” he said. “The process is my major concern.”

So the process to discuss “The Golden Compass” turned out to be calm, honest, pretty much relaxed and even friendly. There were opinions expressed that any book taken from a library is dangerous or since books containing dark and hopeless endings could be had at any for-profit bookstore, why should a Catholic library have one?’

People could have employed tactics, strategies and inflammatory rhetoric at the meeting to support either side of the issue. I went to see if that simplistic approach would happen. Any issue rarely has just two sides. Issues are more like prisms that, when held to the light and turned, reflect many colors and shades.

The tiresome and counter-productive result of arguing instead of learning, is animosity and a focus toward winning at all costs. Sadly, we’re all too familiar with those methods today and the result is a polarized society. Please note the current political year.

Franz set the tone for the meeting, saying a complex and intricate issue was before them. Almost everyone who spoke echoed that thought. How refreshing.

So at the Gorman meeting there was no shouting; no shaky voices; no dramatic last stands or Patrick Henry speeches. Just expression of perspectives and getting into the philosophy (and practicalities) of book selection. It was pleasing to see the prism put to the light and turned many times.

Franz was right. The volume in question is a single book. The gathering seemed more like a test, revealing how the issue was handled by the faith-based library board and those gathered, than who would ultimately win.

Someone could have won the battle but lost the war through strident insistence. I didn’t hear that happen.

If the only result of Gorman’s wrestling with “The Golden Compass” was to show the rest of us a pretty good template of how a sensitive discussion could be done, it was worth the time spent. And make no mistake; there were observers taking notes. The director of a library serving the county came to see how the issue was handled, sitting quietly in the back.

“We’ve never had a book challenge at our library,” she said to me afterward, “but I’ve been told one day it will come.” Looking around at the people chatting and smiling, she said, “I have a feeling it won’t be like this.”

Too bad, how sad. It would be nice to get through volatile issues, such as book “screening” or “removal from general circulation” or similar allusions to gate-keeping at a private or public library, without relationships being destroyed and lingering bitterness poisoning our community.

We’ve got a long way to go before we get to that mountaintop.