Dee Venuto Admits Not Performing Work For Which She Was Hired
Indeed there are librarians who censor—I have always struggled with the conflict of providing students with what they want to read, view, and hear, and the fact that I have always worked in public schools, which are, in my opinion, pretty conservative institutions. Interestingly in my 18 years of experience, they’ve become even more so. In the beginning of my career I inter-library loaned the Anarchist’s Cookbook for a high school student—not so sure I would do that today. After a discussion I had at the fall [SJRLC] membership meeting, I will most likely put Eric Jerome Dickey back on the shelves, but would be wary of buying a book by Zane. Dickey came off the shelves, by the way, because of a discussion I had with one of our student media assistants who often reads urban lit and who I depend on for openly discussing the books that I just can’t read. She shared some of the sexually explicit parts with me, which were lengthy, vivid descriptions of a ménage a trois. Professionally, I truly believe it is discriminating to keep materials from young people who want to read, but do not always have access to the public library or the purchase of books. I’d love to buy everything the students want; I’m toying with the idea of a parent permission form/phone call or inter-library loaning books for students who want titles that are mature. [N3]
Dee Venuto, RVRHS Media Specialist
Dee Venuto, the media specialist who admits her role is to "select resources," actually does not. She admits she "just can't read" certain books, and that is in the sense of content, not in the sense of a large number of books, since in the same sentence she talks about "openly discussing" "urban lit." She has students read and report to her on books she just can't read including one involving "lengthy, vivid descriptions of a ménage a trois." She claims it is "discriminating" to keep such material from children. She would "love to buy everything the students want."
Dee Venuto and the American Library Association
Dee Venuto spoke publicly at an ALA annual meeting about how my SafeLibraries blog is changing her library profession. In doing so she remarked that I "seek to educate people and politicians about who controls the public library and that citizens should, not the ALA." [N4] However, as soon as she figured out something was afoot at her school, she sidestepped her own administration and went straight to the ALA. [N5] The ALA then contacted all 50 state library associations to encourage them to get involved. [N6]
The ALA's Misleading Letter to RVRHS
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| Angela Maycock, ALA OIF |
Equally misleading is this from the ALA letter: "This constitutional duty applies with particular force in the school library, which, unlike the classroom, has 'a special role...as a place where students may freely and voluntarily explore diverse topics.' Campbell v. St. Tammany Parish School Board, 64 F.3d 184, 190 (5th Cir. 1995)." The court did not rule that sexually inappropriate material is considered a "diverse topic" that a student should explore in a public school.
Most Misleading is the Failure to Disclose that Books May Be Removed Legally
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| Judith Krug as "Hysteric" Librarian |
Dee Venuto spoke publicly and approvingly of a number of Judith Krug quotes that support her view [N5], but, like the ALA itself, left out the essential one directly on point that dooms the view that anything goes.
The picture above right is of Judith Krug wearing a button saying, "Another 'Hysteric' Librarian for Freedom." If even an "hysteric librarian for freedom" who was the ALA's de facto leader for four decades says, "get it out of there" if material does not "fit your material selection policy," then schools have a green light to remove material that does not fit their selection policies. That crystal truth is the very reason for the misinformation campaign and legal threats (usually by the ACLU) intended to intimidate local communities into not even trying to do the right thing or reversing themselves when they do. Also, attempts to claim selection policies are so inclusive as to exclude nothing do not ring true with Judith Krug saying what she did.
ALA Misleads on Dee Venuto
More on point regarding Dee Venuto, the ALA misleads the school again. Specifically, the ALA said, "We extend our full support to Media Center Coordinator Dee Venuto, who has worked to select a diverse range of materials for the collection without shying away from potentially controversial subjects." The ALA said this on March 3, 2010. But is was a month before that, on February 1, 2010, that Dee Venuto admitted she "just can't read" certain material and has students read and report to her on things such as "lengthy, vivid descriptions of a ménage a trois." [N3]
In other words, by Dee Venuto's own words, it is factually impossible that Dee Venuto "worked to select a diverse range of materials for the collection without shying away from potentially controversial subjects," as the ALA claimed. Just the opposite. She "just c[ould]n't read" certain material and had students read such material and report to her. In other words, she "sh[ied] away from potentially controversial subject."
Conclusion
Given the above, it appears that a public school media specialist admits to and explains why she is not performing her work she states is her job. It appears she intentionally exposes school children to potentially inappropriate material. It appears she holds the ALA to be a higher authority than her own school district and is guided by the ALA, including by its view that it is discrimination to keep children from inappropriate material, a policy that may violate local policy and common sense. It also appears she and the ALA have misled the public, including failing to disclose that school library materials may be removed if they do not meet the school's selection policy.
That's my view. What's yours?
End Notes
- N1. "NJ Public School Teachers, 2009-10," Asbury Park Press, undated.
- N2. "Working to Shelve Students' Book Choices," by Monica Yant Kinney, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2 May 2010.
- N3. "Teen Lit: Edgy or Over the Edge?," by Patricia Bruder, NJEA Review, February 2010.
- N4. "SafeLibraries Changing Library Profession According to Speaker at ALA 2010 Annual Conference; SafeLibraries Welcomes Media Requests for ALA Balance," by Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries, 14 August 2010.
- N5. "Video from Annual Conference: IF Issues Briefing," by Angela Maycock, OIF Blog, 13 August 2010, speech by Dee Venuto starts about half way through. Also see her speech handout.
- N6. See, e.g., "[AKLA List] FW: Intellectual Freedom Issue: Support Needed," by June Pinnell-Stephens, Alaska Library Association, 26 March 2010, forwarding a letter from the ALA to all state library associations: "[stateifc] Intellectual Freedom Issue: Support Needed," by Angela Maycock, ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, 8 March 2010:
The media specialist, Dee Venuto, has been in contact with ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and we are working to provide her with the support she needs. Ms. Venuto would like other librarians and organizations to be aware of this situation, given the possibility that this particular 912 chapter’s efforts may be adopted by other 912 groups across the country.
I would encourage each of your state library associations to express their support for the media specialist and the school, if you feel it is appropriate.
- N7. "Letter from ALA to RVRHS," by Angela Maycock, ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, 3 March 2010.
- N8. "Marking 25 Years of Banned Books Week," by Judith Krug, Curriculum Review, 46:1, September 2006.
NOTE ADDED 22 APRIL 2011:
For Dee Venuto's efforts in going directly to the ALA instead of her own management to seek external help for local book challenges, she has been awarded by the ALA, apparently to set an example that others should go directly to the ALA as well. I commented as such on the page announcing the award. That led to many of her friends commenting in response and supporting what she did.
One Lynn Harpool even called those who challenged some books "terrorists." I'm not kidding. See "School Librarian Stands Against Organized Challenge, Receives AASL Intellectual Freedom Award," by Jennifer Habley, American Libraries, 19 April 2011, wherein Lynn Harpool commented:
I am appalled by the actions of the Rancocas Valley School Board in bowing to the wishes of this organized, outside, terroristic (yes, I consider them to be a form of terrorist) group in pulling the books. Although two out of the three titles were re-instated, the fact that the third title was not restored does not clear them in my mind. I intend to further educate other alumni of RVRHS at our upcoming reunion about this incident and hopefully they too will join me in expressing our dismay at the cowardly actions of our former school which, until this action, we held in high regard. Rancocas Valley Regional High School failed in this matter but we can be proud that they have Dee Venuto on their staff (hopefully they won’t retaliate against her).
Lynn Harpool
RVRHS alumnus and NJ Librarian
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| Librarian Lynn Harpool's Facebook comment supporting MoveOn.org's anticapitalism. |
The library, by the way, has the ALA's anything-goes policy, and the bold emphasis and capital letters are in the original:
6. Parents - NOT LIBRARY STAFF - are responsible for what their children check out from the Library and for what they access on the Internet.
I also note from the Lynn Harpool Facebook wall that she positively promoted the anticapitalist work of MoveOn.org. The graphic above shows the approving comment she wrote. I find it ironic that she decries corporations "shirking their tax-paying duty" while her library shirks its tax-paying duty to protect children from harm and she shirks her own duty to refrain from using inflammatory/defamatory language.
So an anticapitalist-supporting, anything-goes librarian who calls people terrorists and cowards supports another anything-goes librarian who admits she does not perform her duties and who complains immediately to the ALA. Any surprise here?
By the way, the National Coalition Against Censorship [NCAC] also handed Dee Venuto an award "for fighting against censorship." See "NCAC Honors Myracle, School Librarian as Defenders of Free Speech," by Rocco Staino, School Library Journal, 14 December 2010. No surprise there as the NCAC promotes porn, just like Dee Venuto.
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As a parent, I would be extremely concerned if my child was sharing “some of the sexually explicit parts” [of a book] “which were lengthy, vivid descriptions of a ménage a trois.” with her teacher.
ReplyDeleteI would be very concerned about the appropriateness of the relationship and interaction between my child and the teacher.
I would be more worried about this than the books on the shelves.
Concerned Parent
It appears she intentionally exposes school children to potentially inappropriate material.
ReplyDeleteThis is the sentence I have the most trouble with. It "appears" she exposes children to "potentially" inappropriate material. Nicely made statement, without actually accusing her of anything. Way to cover your *ss.
I guess when I simply take my kids to B&N, which sells Playboy magazine, I am intentionally exposing them to potentially inappropriate material, too. Arrest me.
Thanks, Concerned Parent (Anonymous).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maria, long time no hear. The difference is when you take your kids to the store, you are not asking them to read Playboy because you can't, it is not your job to read it, and you are not passing off your job to children. Besides, they are your children.
That said, it would sadden the ALA that you would not allow your children to read Playboy. After all, the same Judith Krug I mentioned in the body of the blog post said:
"Parents who would tell their children not to read Playboy 'don't really care about their kids growing up and learning to think and explore.'"
What about ménage a trois should your children think and explore in a public school setting that promises to "offer guidance and support services"?
The sentence I quoted doesn't address the idea of her having students read the material because she doesn't like it, or doing part of her job for her. If she really is relying solely on students' recommendations to decide what books to purchase for the school library, I would agree that that is the wrong way to operate. But I would imagine that she is using student input in addition to other resources, such as book reviews from reliable sources (Book Review Digest, etc.)
ReplyDeleteYou can't blame a library or a librarian for having a book or collection of books you don't like or approve of. It is the library user's right to decide what material they want to read. And saying it "appears" she "intentionally" exposes children to "potentially" inappropriate material.....? How do you know what her intentions are? How do you know that it is inappropriate for someone, potentially or not? Do you truly believe that library users don't have the right to decide what to read? Do you truly believe that only adults have this right?
Your choice of words makes it clear that you are willing to make veiled accusations ("appears", "potentially") without actually standing behind them.
Maria, your comments here and in my past blog posts are consistently of the "attack the messenger" kind. Further, your having received $1000 from the ALA no longer makes your efforts to distract from the issues credible.
ReplyDeleteI may soon publish a blog post about you and your sub-rosa $1000 grant from the ALA. I'll bet very few are aware of this ALA influence that you have denied. Each time you comment here to attack the messenger or distract from the issues I will respond merely by linking to the blog post showing you to be an ALA paid agent. In the rare instance you actually address substantive issues without directing people's attention to the messenger, then I may respond substantively.
Do not feign innocence/ignorance. I did not point out your personal attack in your first comment on this post: "Nicely made statement, without actually accusing her of anything. Way to cover your *ss." I tried to be polite, and I was.
Your response was to include further personal attack: "Your choice of words makes it clear that you are willing to make veiled accusations ('appears', 'potentially') without actually standing behind them."
So two comments, two personal attacks. Most of your past comments involved personal attack as well. Now that I know you have received a $1000 pay-off from the ALA, you are no longer credible and I will no longer tolerate your personal attacks and efforts to distract from the issues.
Do not confuse my not responding substantively with acquiescence with what little substantive argument that may accompany your attacks and misdirection.
Thanks again for writing.
OK, Dan, if you can't actually address the questions in my previous comment, which most certainly address the issues discussed in your blog post, I'll leave it alone. And who do you think I am distracting when we are the only two people actively commenting on this post? I think it is amusing that when someone questions you about your word choices, you scream "personal attack."
ReplyDeleteYou already know more about the $1000 grant to West Bend Parents for Free Speech, and how the only "payoff" received via the grant was the reimbursement of about $180 for an Open Records Request made by another member of WBPFFS. But feel free to call me an "ALA paid agent." I'll know I've really hit the big time with my reckless idea that parents should be the ones who decide what books are appropriate for their own kids if I warrant my own blog article on the Safe Libraries blog!
Maria let me try to answer your obvious non-question to the sentence, "It appears she intentionally exposes school children to potentially inappropriate material."
ReplyDeleteWhat Dan means is that Dee Venuto , in her own words says ..." Dickey came off the shelves, by the way, because of a discussion I had with one of our student media assistants who often reads urban lit and who I depend on for openly discussing the books that I just can’t read. She shared some of the sexually explicit parts with me, which were lengthy, vivid descriptions of a ménage a trois."
Now I do not know your reading level so let me interpret above for you. Ms Venuto had a high school student read a book "she just can't read". Then Ms Venuto had her report on and discussed the livid juicy details of sexually explicit parts involving a menage a trois. OK, now from the dictionary...menage a trois - a sexual relationship involving three people (general meaning here is all three at the same time)
To sum up again...listen carefully...Dee Venuto said in her own words that she INTENTIONALLY had a HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT read a book and then she INTENTIONALLY had a detailed conversation with a HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT about the EXPLICITLY SEXUAL descriptions IN THE BOOK of THREE PEOPLE HAVING SEXUAL RELATIONS.
Now what part of the answer to your non-question is in doubt? Don't get mixed up Maria...there is no way this is about a trip to Barnes and Noble with your kids...you know it, Dee knows it and everybody reading this blog knows it...no matter how hard you try to spin it!
Dan I commend you on your patience in answering Maria!
If Dan would provide a link to the complete article on which Venuto is quoted, that would be wonderful. Meanwhile, I'll share my interpretation of the quote, because it differs from yours, Anonymous.
ReplyDeleteVenuto says she "depends on" a student media assistant to openly discuss books she personally cannot read. She did not say that she assigns the student the task of reading the books, just that she gets input/discussion from the student. The passage indicates the student shared some of the passages with her, but does not indicate how they were shared. Did the student read them to her? Did the student flip to the passages and hand over the book? Did the student mark the pages with a Post It and have Venuto read them at a later time? We don't know, because beyond the fact that the information was "shared," we aren't privy to the details. The quote certainly doesn't, try as Anonymous might like, say that Venuto had the student "report on and discuss(ed) the livid juicy details of sexually explicit parts involving a menage a trois.
I'm the one putting a spin on this? Your interpretation of her quote is just a guess, as is mine. Without the context of the full article, which may provide more details, I don't know how anyone can come to the conclusion that this educator is "intentionally exposing school children to potentionally inappropriate material." For crying out loud, she says she took the Dickey book/books off the shelf because of a discussion she had with the student media assistant! So are you saying she intentionally exposed the student media assistant to explicit material, just to remove the book from the shelves to protect the general student population from it?
As a graduate of Rancocas Valley Regional High School now majoring in biomedical engineering, the guidance from the media center under Ms. Venuto, has not only provided me with the necessary guidance to excel at The University of Alabama. Over the course of my four years at RVRHS, I was able to cultivate and refine my abilities as a student to not only read a text, but to extract the content and engineer it into a well constructed research paper. A well constructed research paper that included the truth of the topic at hand. I can attest to doing a research paper on a 'touchy' subject, the subject was discrimination and prejudice of the mid 20th century, the main source was "Black Like Me Book" (John Howard Griffin). Without using an appropriate yet forthright text, expressing the truth and frank realities of the topic at hand would not have the same delivery.
ReplyDeleteMind you this is a public* regional high school, the topics will be eventually encountered in secondary education at any college English course, having the guidance* of Ms. Venuto of how to use the suggestive themes into a research work. A luxury that a college librarian will not be willing to do, nevertheless an English professor.
Lets look at the numbers, the average age of a high school freshman is 14-15 years old; themes including drugs, alcoholism, sex, discrimination, profanity, etc. are nationally considered mature enough for a teen who is 13 to handle, because they are consistently in films rated PG-13. So if you are a parent who does not let your 14-18 year old watch PG-13 rated movies, then I can understand your point of not wanting your young adult* to encounter mature subjects. However if you allow your child to view movies rated PG-13 or higher, why censor what your child will read if it inevitably will be encountered in college or out of school, if the media center provides guidance with using the suggestive themes?
Ms. Dee Venuto as a public high school librarian provides direction of how to use suggestive themes in a research paper which I can attest to my success in college and am very appreciative of.
RVRHS Class of 2013,
B Fowler
University of Alabama
Biomedical Engineering
Bob Fowler,
DeleteThank you so much for writing. Dee Venuto obviously made a big impression on you, so much so you have left a touching comment about her. That right there says quite a lot about her and how she inspires her students.
Since your entire comment was to praise her guidance and to explain that it was invaluable for you in training you to become the person you are today, allow me to make some constructive criticism.
First, let me say the format of a comment on a blog post does not lend itself to absolute perfection. It’s not like a term paper that you pore over repeatedly to make it perfect.
That said, your writing does not create in my mind a good impression of Dee Venuto. Given I know her emphasis as a media “specialist” is on providing edgy material for children instead of quality material, given I know one of her edgy materials was removed from the school by the school board, given I know she is now a vocal advocate within the American Library Association for ensuring school children are reading edgy material, I can see in your writing the negative impact of reading edgy material instead of quality material. Your writing is filled with logic and grammar bombs that made what you wrote very hard to read.
Let’s look at just the first sentence. It is cringeworthy. It is in defense of Dee Venuto’s excellent “guidance from the media center,” and it leaves me worried about the quality of your work as a biomedical engineer. I am telling you it telegraphs poor guidance from the media center. Knowing what I know about Dee Venuto and the type of racy work she promoted instead of quality work, I am not surprised in the least to see that your writing skills are so poor.
First sentence: “As a graduate of Rancocas Valley Regional High School now majoring in biomedical engineering, the guidance from the media center under Ms. Venuto, has not only provided me with the necessary guidance to excel at The University of Alabama.”
“As a graduate…, the guidance” — that should be: As a graduate…, I. The “guidance” is not the graduate, you are.
“Ms. Venuto, has not only” — there should be no comma there.
“has not only….” — has not only …, but also. Where’s the but also? That whole first sentence is a sentence fragment.
At least three errors in the first sentence where you are extolling the virtues of the excellence in the educating in writing that you received from Dee Venuto. If you excel at the University of Alabama, it will be because of your own hard work to catch up to where you should be, not because of the poor media skills you learned from Dee Venuto and now have to unlearn. Good luck but you can do it.
The remainder of your work is similarly weighed down with the very writing style one learns in racy readings instead of quality readings. I’d say Dee Venuto cheated you, based on your writing, and based on what I know about Dee Venuto, including what she admitted in the New Jersey Education Reporter about how sloppily she does her work. I’d say you perfectly illustrate what happens when a media specialist pushes her political viewpoints instead of providing a quality education.
Reading racy material is fun and exciting, but students miss out on the quality education needed to excel that they could have had were they to read quality works instead. I’m sorry for you and the many other children who have likely been similarly harmed by Dee Venuto.
But remember, writing in comments on blogs is not always the most rigorous writing, so that’s most likely why I found your comment to be really hard to read. And I could simply be wrong. Besides, pobody’s nerfect.
Thanks again for writing here to defend Dee Venuto.
By the way, Bob Fowler, if you send me your work, I'll be happy to review it for free for grammar, etc. I've written biomedical patents so I understand that topic.
DeleteThe purpose of this blog is clear to me simply after reading one article and a few comments; take any chance you can to degrade and criticize librarians. And for that I would call you a coward. Why do you use so much of your time to attack people who do their best to ensure young adults have a diverse collection of literature available. For anyone concerned with what may or may not be in the books, you're completely out of touch with your own children. This is a high school library. Do you really think high school students do not understand what a threesome is? Letting a teenager watch a rated-R movie is just as graphic and "vulgar." However, many parents allow that. Your point is moot because there's nothing in the library that students haven't already been exposed to or had some knowledge of. These are young adults, not children. Some of which are ready to head off to college or the work force. Shielding them from the so-called horrors of Dee Venuto's library is a futile effort because one search on the internet will provide you with the same thing. The fact that you must use one small quote of she "c[ould]n't read" so of the works is petty. She's a human and yes her job is to be a librarian and read as many of the works as she can. However, there are far too many works for one person to read. If she "can't read" them then although she didn't finish them, she understands what the piece is about. She's not completely clueless of it's scandalous nature. In addition, her sole duty isn't just to read books in the library. She works with students every day, always helping when they need it. She works tirelessly to prepare students with the resources and skills to craft well constructed research papers. These learned skills provide the foundation for college writing expectations. I laughed to myself when you asserted that the ALA sent a misleading letter when the letter itself was very clear; they support all that Ms. Venuto is doing at RV. Just because you do not approve of the message does not mean it's misleading. In conclusion, to attack a woman solely because of one quote is pathetic. Teenagers are not as naive as you portray them and Dee Venuto's has the confidence in her students that they can handle controversial material maturely.
ReplyDeleteRachel Elliott,
DeleteThanks for writing.
After reading one article and a few comments, as you say, you ascribe a whole pile of terrible things to me, all untrue.
Look, I didn't force Dee Venuto to write something the New Jersey Education Reporter published about how she can't stand to do her job for which she is paid about 6 figures. I didn't make her write that she lets her students read the racy material then report back to her on it. I didn't make her say that. She said that. I'm just reporting it.
Then the school board itself removed the book in question from the school. They had to because, as Dee Venuto admitted, Dee wasn't doing her job.
People who admit they cannot do their job should be fired. Where people admit they cannot do their job, then their boss has to intervene because they did not do their job, that's even worse.
Am I "attacking" Dee Venuto? No. I quoted her. I gave a link to the story where she admitted to failing to do the very job for which she was hired. I cited news where a book she could not bring herself to read had to be removed from the school by the school board. And such removals are rather rare. So Dee Venuto did a rather poor job, oh yes, she admitted she cannot do her job.
Fire her and move on to a media specialist that actually does the work for which he or she is paid.
Thanks again for writing.
You entirely missed the point of my post. I'm saying that SHE DOES HER JOB. Students reading "racy" material isn't something to be fired for. She said she couldn't read certain material probably because there are thousands of books in the RV library. The whole basis for your argument is that because she "c[ould]n't read" one book she wasn't doing her job. In reality, she was. She was aware of the subject matter within the material. Like I said before, students reading racy material isn't a crime. Students are at an age in which they are soon to enter the real world. The real world isn't going to shield them from "racy" material. Overprotection and excessive censorship is unnecessary in today's society. Students are exposed to the exact things you're talking about every day.
ReplyDelete"Students reading 'racy' material isn't something to be fired for."
DeleteCorrect. But that's not the issue.
"SHE DOES HER JOB"
Incorrect. She wrote an education publication that she cannot bring herself to do her job. The kids then got the book with the anal intercourse picture, etc., to read. The school board was then forced to do her job and removed the book. So she does not do her job.
People who do not do their job usually get fired. Of course we are talking about an educator of children in a public school, so getting fired is a near impossibility. Were she in the private sector, she'd be gone years back.
This is not a person who made a bad decision. This is someone who refuses to do her job, admitted to refusing to do her job, and her employer was forced to do her job. It's that simple.
Unfortunately, she's still there not doing her job. Did you see the comment her own student wrote me? It exemplifies that she is not doing her job.
Did you know ALA placed that book into its annual list of top 10 "banned" books"? Did you know the author of that book admitted ALA told her other books were challenged more than hers but ALA stuck it on the list anyone, meaning the ALA annual list is faked? Did you know I recorded the author saying that in public and placed the recording on my blog?
First off, you're telling me that no librarian in the entire history of librarians has had a board of education disagree with them? I find that highly unlikely. Would you argue that all of those similar librarians were not doing their job, even though they are entitled to their beliefs and select books based on their own judgement? Second, Bobby's comment was not a reflection of her not doing her job. She's a media center specialist, not an English teacher. She has provided students with resources to improve their writing. Her job is not to proofread and teach grammar. Her job is to show students how to find evidence to support their arguements and formulate ideas to write on. If you're really going to stoop so low to gramatically critique someone's sincere appraisal of Mrs. Venuto, then your argument is clearly not strong enough to withstand others. You've said the same thing every time I have commented. Maybe your librarian didn't teach you the skills to find more resources and create a solid basis for your article. Lastly (although according to you, Mrs. Venuto isn't doing her job because Bobby's writing was flawed) I, too, had her as my media center specialist and I haven't received the same vicious grammar remarks as my fellow alumni. I just don't see how a person can spend their time trying to ruin other people's lives. What's the purpose in that? If Mrs. Venuto was in fact not doing her job, don't you think the school board, who was so informed and quick to remove the controversial book, would have removed her as well?
ReplyDeleteNo, Rachel, no. It is not an issue of disagreement. It is that this librarian published that she refused to do her job. I reported that she published that and that the school had to do her work for her. I did not make her write in public that she refuses to do her job. I am not aware of any other librarian who has ever published that they refuse to do their job. Please, I don't need to go through this again.
DeleteThanks for writing here, and I hope you'll look at an contribute to other posts as well from time to time.
I was following this post back in 2010 when we had our back and forth, and, as such, I got the most recent posts emailed to me. I've been holding my tongue, but that never seems to last very long with me re: this blog.
ReplyDeleteWhen Venuto says she "just can't read" certain books, we do not know the reason she cannot read them. Dan Kleinman seems to believe it means something along the lines of she cannot stomach the material, but I think it more likely means she does not have the time to read all of the books she'd like to, and some books fall by the wayside. To say "she cannot bring herself to do her job" or to say or assume she's having students do part of her job for her is grossly unfair. As someone who has worked in both bookstores and libraries, I know that booksellers and librarians cannot read all of the books they'd like to read. Input from co-workers, customers, and students makes one more informed, and sharing knowledge with each other helps all staff to serve their customers. For example, when a school I worked at was in the process of examining the library inventory in preparation for a move and a change to the age of children being served, the librarian asked me if I'd read certain titles and what my opinion was of those books; was the content too intense for the new, younger students?, for example. It's not that she wasn't doing her job; she was working smarter by using my knowledge and experience as a resource, and, of course, she could not read all of the thousands of books in the library. I imagine student input would have been used by my librarian in the same manner, and that Dee Venuto would use student input along she referenced with the other resources available to her.
To correct and criticize Bob Fowler's post in the way that you did was incredibly presumptuous and rude. Certainly, the intent and spirit of his post was evident. And he was not writing a research paper, he was writing a blog post comment.
Nice to hear from you again, Maria, but you quietly accepted a financial grant from ALA and have become one of its living exhibits (not intended in a bad way as I had living exhibits speak at my trainings as well).
DeleteThat said, here is what Dee Venuto said, from the link I provided in "N3" of the original post, and bear in mind she was hired as the school's "media specialist":
Dee Venuto, Rancocas Valley High School media center coordinator: Indeed there are librarians who censor—I have always struggled with the conflict of providing students with what they want to read, view, and hear, and the fact that I have always worked in public schools, which are, in my opinion, pretty conservative institutions. Interestingly in my 18 years of experience, they’ve become even more so. In the beginning of my career I inter-library loaned the Anarchist’s Cookbook for a high school student—not so sure I would do that today. After a discussion I had at the fall [SJRLC] membership meeting, I will most likely put Eric Jerome Dickey back on the shelves, but would be wary of buying a book by Zane. Dickey came off the shelves, by the way, because of a discussion I had with one of our student media assistants who often reads urban lit and who I depend on for openly discussing the books that I just can’t read. She shared some of the sexually explicit parts with me, which were lengthy, vivid descriptions of a ménage a trois. Professionally, I truly believe it is discriminating to keep materials from young people who want to read, but do not always have access to the public library or the purchase of books. I’d love to buy everything the students want; I’m toying with the idea of a parent permission form/phone call or inter-library loaning books for students who want titles that are mature.
It would be nice if, just ONCE, you would actually respond to a blog comment without rehashing something you've said over and over, or referencing your own blog. Yes, I read what Dee wrote. And I see nothing wrong with it. Is this comment the supposed evidence that Dee is not doing her job?
ReplyDeleteAnd it's been 5 long years and I'm still waiting for that expose about how I'm a paid tool of the ALA. And for anyone unfamiliar with Dan's absurd little obsession, a group I began, West Bend Parents for Free Speech, was offered a $1000 grant from a division of the ALA. This was to help us in our efforts to prevent another group from banning, restricting or labeling LGBT titles in the YA section of our public library in West Bend, WI. Another person involved in the fight was reimbursed about $180 for an open records request concerning our local common council when they refused to renew the existing library board members' terms while the book challenge was going on. I never saw a dime of it, yet according to Dan and Ginny Maziarka, I'm living the high life after being "paid off" by the ALA.
Maria, I usually avoid comments dealing with things you don't like about me, like my "absurd little obsession." I am not now and almost never will be the issue. You have a history of ignoring the issue of libraries flat out lying to the public about the law and instead you bore in on the whistleblowers. You are doing it again. To the extent a small portion of your comments are about the issues, it is only meant to get me to give you the angle you need to make further personal attacks. You and I have spent many, many hours down the time hole where you try to distract and make me the issue and I try to refocus on the issue. It's happening again and I'm just not into that game right now.
DeleteI can tell you I am making significant progress in exposing how the American Library Association misleads communities into allowing their public libraries and public schools to conform to the will of the Illinois ACLU board member who joined ALA and created new pro-porn policy. That's my focus. Right now I am writing a Request for Review to the Illinois Attorney General about a library that has been blocking me from speaking for over half a year in violation of that state's Open Meetings Act. The AG keeps ruling against the library and the library keeps saying the AG's findings don't matter a hill of beans. So I'll continue writing that now and not responding to your continuing ad hominem argument.
Why don't you follow me and comment from time to time. Just keep the comments related to the issues, not the messenger, and I'll respond accordingly.
You brought up the ALA grant, which has nothing to do with this blog post or to my comment. Almost anytime I commented on your blog years ago, you discussed the ALA grant. Yet *I* am the one who is trying to distract?
ReplyDeleteYou continue to ignore my questions or engage in any kind of meaningful discussion of this situation. Again, is that Dee Venuto quote supposed to be evidence/an admission of her not doing her job? Because I don't see it, and clearly others here don't as well.
And....... you're doing it again.
DeleteAll I'm doing is asking you to explain how the passage you referenced is an admission from Dee Venuto that she's not doing her job. You are interpreting her words in a way to suit your purpose, and are unwilling to admit that she may have meant something else when she said she "can't read" certain books.
ReplyDeleteAnd nothing I said in the previous comment could be taken as a "personal attack," if that's what you were trying to indicate. I don't understand your reluctance to further discuss or share your "evidence." I would think that you would want to take every opportunity to make your case.