Library Obstructs Child Porn Investigation by State Police in Montrose, NY; Claims Stonewalling is Not Stonewalling

Another library is supporting child pornography by thwarting police. But first:

• Recall the Holyoke, MA, library director covering up child porn.
• Recall how the American Library Association [ALA] itself may be directly involved in thwarting child porn investigations.
• Recall the Nicholasville, KY, librarians fired for not pornifying a child.
• Recall the Lindsley, CA, library employee fired for reporting child porn to the police.
• Recall the Roswell, NM, library director seeking porn for children.
• Recall the Topeka, KS, library director calling for Playboy for children.
  
• Recall the library that has a written policy opposing porn but that in reality allows child porn, even kicking out a complaining mother.

Now it is Montrose, NY's turn to have its library promote child porn by stonewalling the police and the local community's interests in finding the criminal. This is evident in this very sad story about yet another community in the ALA/ACLU-led stranglehold.

Let me point out that often the libraries are correct to ask for a search warrant, and often the police are prepared for that request and can comply relatively quickly. This matter is not that case, however. This, in my opinion, is the smoking gun of the library obstructing justice:

Specifically, police need the library board to provide a consent form to search the computer further and determine the specific images the man was viewing, Senior Investigator Brian Hoff said.

Police can obtain that information either through a consent form or by going to court for a warrant that would allow them to search the computer. However, Hoff said police don't have enough probable cause to get a warrant at this point.

He said police know the suspect's identity and still have custody of the computer but can't investigate further.

Here is the story of the library standing in the way of its own community:

"Cops: Library Stalls; Librarian Disagrees,"
by Terence Corcoran,
The Journal News,
30 October 2009

MONTROSE - State police say they have pulled the plug on an investigation into the possible viewing of child pornography by a patron of Hendrick Hudson Free Library because the library board refuses to cooperate with them.

The library director, however, said board members are reviewing the matter, have not made a decision - and insisted that the board is not stonewalling police.

"The board is definitely not not cooperating," director M. Jill Davis said Thursday. "We're looking for some additional information to evaluate the situation and then make a decision."

Davis said the board initially conferred with an attorney recommended by Westchester Library System but that it does not have its own lawyer. Messages left Thursday for the board president, Francis Fitzgerald, were not immediately returned.

In late September, investigators with the Cortlandt barracks seized a computer from the library after receiving a complaint from a librarian that a patron may have been using it to view illegal material.

Police said an "astute librarian" saw an older white male using the computer three times between July and September to view what was suspected to be child porn.

"An initial investigation supported the librarian's claims that the computer was used to view child pornography," Investigator Sean Morgan wrote in an e-mail. "Also, alarmingly, this was occurring within just a few feet of the children's section of the library."

Morgan said the library board, through its attorney, has refused to cooperate further, citing the suspect's privacy rights.

"As such, the matter is being closed at this time," he said.

Specifically, police need the library board to provide a consent form to search the computer further and determine the specific images the man was viewing, Senior Investigator Brian Hoff said.

Police can obtain that information either through a consent form or by going to court for a warrant that would allow them to search the computer. However, Hoff said police don't have enough probable cause to get a warrant at this point.

He said police know the suspect's identity and still have custody of the computer but can't investigate further.

"Our hands are tied," Hoff said. But Davis said the library board is seeking more information on what exactly it would be consenting to before agreeing to anything.

Cortlandt resident Lindsey Scott, who often takes her 2-year-old daughter to the library, said she was surprised to hear that someone was accused of viewing child pornography on a library computer.

"It's shocking," she said.

Scott, 27, said that if what police say is true, library board members should cooperate with the investigation.

"They should be more worried about keeping everyone safe than someone's rights," she said. "It should be investigated. There are kids all over this library."

Angel Reyes, 19, of Montrose agreed that the library board should cooperate with police if it isn't already doing so.

"They should let the police do their work," he said Thursday night while heading into the library.

Last year, a 54-year-old Southeast man was sentenced to 10 years' probation in Putnam County Court after Carmel police found him downloading child pornography at Mahopac Public Library. Librarians had seen the man viewing child porn and notified police, who waited for him to return to the library. Thomas Farmer was also barred from entering the Mahopac library for eight years and required to register as a sex offender.

In Tulare County, Calif., a librarian at the Lindsay Branch Library was discharged by her supervisor last year after she called authorities about a man who apparently was viewing child pornography on a library computer. The man was arrested, and the fired librarian sued to get her job back.

Linda Berns, director of the Lower Hudson Valley chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, noted Thursday that libraries had been heavily involved in making modifications to the USA Patriot Act - set to be renewed in December - and other efforts by the government to obtain information about people who use library materials and services after Sept. 11.

"There is some expectation of privacy in a library," she said. "Librarians have a very strong code of privacy and individual rights."

As to the police investigation, Berns said it seemed reasonable for investigators to obtain a court warrant before searching a library computer.

Viewing child pornography is considered possession, whether a person looks at it on a computer or downloads the images, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office said. It's a felony, punishable by up to four years in state prison.

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Librarians Fired for Not Pornifying Child

In Nicholasville, KY, two librarians are fired for not pornifying an 11 year old girl in accordance with library policy at the Jessamine County Public Library. !!!! The second link has a video that must be seen.

Can there be any doubt that this is a direct result of American Library Association [ALA] policies and practices? Does anyone here think these two librarians would be required to give porn to children if it were not for the ALA?

WTVQ-ABC36 and WBKO-ABC13 report, you decide:

"Librarians Won't Give Child 'Porn' Book," WTVQ ABC36, 21 October 2009:

Two Nicholasville librarians are fired for not allowing a kid check out a book. The women say the book contains pornographic material inappropriate for children.

The two women say they were fired last month when they wouldn't let a young girl check out a book from The League of Extraordinary Gentleman series. Now, both women say they're less concerned with their jobs and more concerned with keeping material like this out of children's hands.

"Residents in Jessamine County do not realize that these books that are so graphic are available in the library let alone to their children," former Jessamine County librarian, Beth Bovaire, said.

Beth Bovaire worked at Jessamine County Public Library up until a month ago. She and Sharon Cook worked as librarians- the two were fired last month when they say they didn't allow a child check out a book from the league of extraordinary gentleman series.

"My friend Sharon had brought it to me on Wednesday, and she said 'look at this book it's filthy and it's on hold for an 11 year old girl,' and I said well okay, lets take it off hold."

The Jessamine County Library director says it's against their policy to speak about employee terminations but he did give me a copy of their policy and it clearly states the responsibilities of the child's reading must lye with the parents and not with the library.

The women say the books contain lewd pictures of men and women in sexual situations that are inappropriate for children.

"If you give children pornography, a child, a 12 year old, can not understand and process the same way a 30 year old can," Sharon Cook said.

The women say parents these days are swamped and it's far too easy for a child to check out a book without them ever knowing. The women hope the library will reconsider their policies to make sure children aren't checking out inappropriate materials.

See also "Librarians Fired Over Porn," WBKO-ABC13, 23 October 2009, where there's a news video to watch as well.

"Parents do the best they can; they need some help." You think?

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But... Monkey in Cheshire, CT; Selection Policy Needs Amendment; Library Director Ramona Harten Says Her Own Authority Trumps All

There's a "But... Monkey" in the Cheshire Public Library in Cheshire, CT, and she has declared that her own authority trumps residents, the library board, even the town government itself: "Library Director Ramona Harten said Monday she will listen to what the residents have to say. But, ultimately, neither the library board nor anyone else in town government has the authority to overturn the director’s decision, she said."

Source: "Residents to Have Say on Petit Book," by Luther Turmelle, New Haven Register, 20 October 20 2009, emphasis mine. It should have been called "Residents to Have NO Say on Petit Book."

Thank you, radio host Laura Ingraham, for the fair use of the But... Monkey concept and image. Ms. Ingraham's concept of a But... Monkey is someone who says something good initially, then there's a "but," then the person says and means nearly the exact opposite. In Cheshire, CT, the library director says she will listen to residents, and that is good, then there's a "but," then she says she will not listen to them, the library board, or even the town government. That is bad. The truth is the exact opposite.

Who is the real power in the town? The residents are the real power. At some time in the past, they organized a public library. That organization was likely recorded in some legal document such as a statute, an ordinance, a charter, what have you. That library was most likely established for a certain purpose, and the purpose was to be carried out by a certain means that likely has nothing to do with a single library director overruling an entire town and its government.

Look at the history of the library: "Community support for the Cheshire Public Library began in 1888 when a group of concerned citizens gathered together to form the Village Improvement Society." "The assets of the Library Association were turned over to the town and a citizens’ advisory Library Board was appointed by the Board of Selectmen." There's nothing there about the library director outranking those citizens or those boards.

"In 1978, the Library went 'on-line' with four other towns, forming the first automated Library consortium in the state of Connecticut." That implies Ramona Harten can control several communities all at once.

Consider this:

“This is not about my personal judgment about whether I like this book or not,” Harten said. “This is about me doing the job that I’m paid to do, and the final decision lies with the library director. There are probably a lot of books in our collection that some people may find offensive, but we leave it up to our patrons to decide whether they want to read them or not.”

If the statement in bold sounds like hubris, it is not. Factually, the library director is correct. The official book selection policies and practices say, "Although the staff participates in the selection process, the Library Director is ultimately responsible for the selection of materials." Despite the history of the library, despite founding documents, despite common sense, the current library director is, by policy, the sole arbiter of what goes. Does anybody see anything wrong here? Might there be a need to amend the policy?

One policy consideration is a selection criterion called, "evident popularity." The book is about the brutal murder of the entire family of a man who lives in the town. Hundreds of people are asking that the library in this particular town not stock this particular book while the victim is still living in the town. I would call that "evident UNpopularity."

"In the event of an objection to any material, ... [t]he Director will apply the selection criteria to the material in question," says the policy, but it appears that may not be happening. Noncompliance may be another reason to amend the library's policy.

What does the American Library Association [ALA] say about selection policy? Certainly ALA guidance is important because the library holds ALA policy to be paramount (Section III). In the ALA's "Workbook for Selection Policy Writing," apparently written for public school libraries, more than a single person is involved in selection policy decisions, and the final decision maker has authority delegated to her—she is not the ultimate authority:

In most states, the locally elected or appointed school board, by law, has broad powers and responsibilities in the selection of instructional materials. This authority should be delegated by policy to appropriate professionals for day-to-day exercise.

While selection of materials involves many people, including administrators, supervisors, teachers, library media specialists, students, and even community residents, the responsibility for coordinating and recommending the selection and purchase of library media materials should rest with the certificated library media personnel. Responsibility for coordinating the selection and purchase of textbooks and other classroom materials may rest with appropriate department chairpersons or with textbook or media evaluation committees.

Ramona Harten did say, "This is about me doing the job that I’m paid to do." That indicates she is answerable to someone or some entity. Perhaps that person or entity would like to consider what the ALA has said about selection policy decisions and rewrite the Cheshire Public Library policy to be in line with the ALA policy held so high in Section III. Compliance with reasonable ALA policy may be a third reason to change the library's existing policy.

In order to stock that first library, Mary Baldwin and her friend Mary Dickerman spent many hours collecting books. In 1892, a Library Association formed, with Mary Baldwin volunteering to serve as Librarian, a post she would hold for the next 29 years. .... Two years later the Library moved to a house owned by Mary Baldwin’s father, presently known as the Belknap House. .... In late summer 1996, the new Library opened. .... A larger programming room (named for Mary Baldwin) and sophisticated telecommunications links were among the improvements. Source: "A History of the Cheshire Public Library."

Compare Mary Baldwin to library director Ramona Harten: "This is about me doing the job that I’m paid to do, and the final decision lies with the library director."

First Library Director Mary Baldwin. Present Library Director Ramona Harten. What a difference.

The residents, library board, and town government of Cheshire, CT, ought to ensure the library policy is amended to be more compliant with existing ALA guidelines, local control, and common sense. Several justifications have been provided for amendment. Certainly there are more.

"Cheshire Public Library has not lost sight of its mission...." Time will tell if that is true.

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ALA is Duplicitous and Fraudulent, Censors Whomever It Wants, Suppresses Intellectual Freedom, and Joins the Jihad

The title of this blog post is strongly worded. Not a single one of those descriptions is made up. They come directly from the American Library Association's [ALA] latest censorship victim or his attorney. It's unbelievable how the ALA gets away with this given it is the nation's self-arrogated "censorship" police.

Is the ALA trying to convince your community to sidestep legal means to protect children, like in Owosso, MI? Is the ALA telling your community not to "censor"? Is "Banned Books Week" promoted heavily? Do you think the ALA is authoritative? Then you need to know exactly how two-faced is the ALA.

Fully read the following from the attorney for the latest of the ALA's censorship victims—your eyes will pop out:

• "The American Library Association's Stealth Jihad Against Free Speech," by William J. Becker, Jr., FrontPage Magazine, 9 October 2009.

And hear directly from the victim of the ALA's scorn:

• "The American Library Association Joins the Jihad," by Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, 9 October 2009.

See also my previous blog post on this topic when it first occurred, and also the comments where I link to the ALA making more excuses, and I renew my call for the ALA to include the speaker it censored at the next opportunity:

• "Proof of ALA Pro-Terrorist Censorship; ALA Challenged to Explain and to Include Censored Speaker Next Time,"by SafeLibraries, SafeLibraries, 23 July 2009.

Hey, ALA! You read my blog posts, do you have anything to say about this? Deborah-Caldwell Stone, you decry "censorship" to convince communities to leave children unprotected by legal means available to protect them, can you please comment on this ALA censorship matter? The ALA looks really bad right now; somebody better say something to explain or correct the ALA's "suppression of intellectual freedom."

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Racist ALA Supported Bestiality for Howell, MI, Children Because Author Is Black; What Will It Do in Vinton, VA, Where Bestiality Book Author is White

In a racist act (in my opinion but it is pretty obvious), the American Library Association [ALA] has used racism as the excuse a public high school should retain a book containing bestiality. The ALA's late de facto leader dismissed parental concerns about inappropriate material in the public school by saying, "Toni Morrison is challenged regularly because she is a black author who writes about the real world." That was in Howell, MI, 2007.

Okay, I guess the ALA would allow bestiality books written by white authors to be removed from public schools. Somehow I doubt it, but here's our chance to find out, this time in Vinton, VA, 2009, this time with a white author, this time also filled with inappropriate material that may be legally removed. Read this:

"Perversion 101: Kids Taught 'Gay' Sex, Rape, Bestiality; High School Teacher Keeps Job Despite Handing Out Pornographic 'Banned Book,'" by Chelsea Schilling, WorldNetDaily, 5 October 2009.

The article starts this way, read the rest online:

A father of a high-school student is infuriated after he said a teacher provided "banned books" to her 11th-grade students, including at least one with explicit descriptions of homosexual sex acts, rape, masturbation, profane language and even bestiality.

John Davis, father of an 11th-grade student at William Byrd High School in Vinton, Va., told WND that English teacher Kathleen Renard provided her personal copy of a book called "Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky to one of her English students, and it was passed to his son. The book is published by MTV Books.

Davis found the book in his son's possession, along with a bookmark that said, "Read banned books. They're your ticket to freedom."

"My son was reading the book and stated it was a school assignment," Davis told WND. "He was embarrassed that I began to peruse through the book and discovered its contents. He advised that the book belongs to his English teacher, Mrs. Kathleen Renard."

Upon reading the book, Davis discovered the following:

• sex acts between teenagers
• male and female masturbation
• suicide
• oral sex
• extensive use of profanity, especially the "F"-word
• multiple cases of homosexual acts between teenage boys, including kissing, seduction and anal sex
• illegal drug and alcohol use, including smoking marijuana and LSD usage
• anonymous homosexual acts between men and boys
• rape of a teenage girl while she cried
• molestation of a young boy by a woman
• molestation of a young girl by an older man
• how hitting a girl can turn her on and make her love a boy
• attempted sex between a boy and a dog

Continue reading here.

The school motto is "Accept only the Best at WBHS." I have not read the book in question; perhaps it IS the best bestiality book available.

Look at this:

"This is one of the better schools around," he told WND. "People need to wake up and start questioning some of the things that are going on in the schools. They wonder why we're having so many problems with teens. A lot of it has to do with what goes on in the schools."

He is not the only parent to say that. See: "Warning to All Parents to Know What Your Child is Reading."

Let's see what the ALA does his time—after all, the author of the bestiality book is white this time. Skin color is apparently important to the ALA, right, ALA?

The real question is will Vinton, VA, follow US Supreme Court precedent or will it, like Howell, MI, fall prey to ALA misdirection. Time will tell, though the school is making a great start.

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