Public awareness of crime, sexual harassment in libraries, and inappropriate books and web sites in schools due to American Library Association policy. ⚖️
Homophobia rears again at the American Library Association [ALA]. When one fakes claims of homophobia so as to promote oneself, that results in increased real discrimination against the LGBT community, real gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, really being harmed. And ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom [OIF] is at it again, implying the crux of whistleblower action against a West Bend, WI, library was 80 LGBT books:
Valerie Nye: You experienced a challenge eight years ago, to a large number of books when you were working at the public library. Can you describe the challenge?
Kristin Pekoll: It was a six-month challenge that shoved me hard into the spotlight. The parent wanted over 80 LGBT books removed from the library.
The truth is that claim about the 80 LGBT books was withdrawn, thus it was not the crux of the matter. But ALA OIF is at it again with the false or misleading claims of discrimination, and resultant harm, against the LGBT community.
So I commented as follows, and the comment is currently "awaiting moderation":
"The parent wanted over 80 LGBT books removed from the library." That is highly misleading and harms the LGBT community since fake claims of LGBT discrimination results in actual increased discrimination. The complaint about the LGBT books was withdrawn because the claimant realized the request was inappropriate. So OIF saying that was the main issue means OIF is simply faking more discrimination against the LGBT community. It follows a pattern of OIF faking claims about LGBT discrimination so as to raise its own profile for its own reasons. I even recorded an author admitting ALA OIF fakes its annual lists, in this case 2010, to place LGBT books on the list of "banned books" even though other books had been challenged more often. Indeed, after I exposed this, LGBT books fell off the annual hoax list for two years. But the fakery started again and is continuing to this day with the resultant harm to the LGBT community.
"Organizations like this use superiority and self-righteousness to knock others down. Their goal is to convince librarians and teachers and parents and readers that there is something shameful in reading and learning about ideas that they consider wrong." I did not do that (and we all know you are talking about SafeLibraries). Point to a single instance where I did that, in West Bend or anywhere. Reading is not the issue. Writing is not the issue. The issue is ALA OIF misleading communities to promote its own interests. Faking claims about LGBT discrimination is just one of many examples of ALA faking claims to mislead communities, and people are being harmed as a result, especially in the LGBT community. ALA even lost a major case in the US Supreme Court in 2003 but misleads people about the results of that case to this very day.
"My colleague, Deborah Caldwell Stone, has a great quote in her office that I have great fondness for: 'Dance like no one is watching. Email like it may one day be read aloud in a deposition.'" This very same person used her personal email to order librarians to destroy evidence ALA OIF gave training featuring a trainer who asked why a women would let small children around a gay man, precisely to avoid FOIA disclosures. ALA rehired that trainer who dropped out after being exposed--if I recall Deborah Caldwell Stone did the rehiring. More homophobia at ALA. It's like a group thing at ALA OIF.
So I'm saddened to see OIF continuing with the same false information that uses the LGBT community to give itself a bump. If ALA OIF were a private company, your group homophobia would have result[ed] in the lot of you being fired long ago.
There's so much more I could say about how ALA OIF's homophobia makes me angry because of the harm it likely causes. But I might get sued again with another settlement offer that I delete this current reporting, like when I wrote Gay Hate @ Your Library. It's still up, go read what ALA wanted censored, and it's staying up.
Librarians, this homophobia is never going to stop so long as ALA OIF continues on unabated, without even a single challenge, without even a single peep.
An Illinois library commits $25,000 fraud. Atlanta Public Library, Atlanta, IL. The Illinois State Library orders the money to be returned. It all happened because of the persistent work of open government watchdogs, in this case Illinois Leaks "Edgar County Watchdogs":
26-0-0. Library media provide no stories on the topic. None. They do not want people to know local libraries may not be the angels people think they are. In this case, library media equals fake news for failing to report on fraud, etc.
Is your local library getting away with anything? Is your media hiding anything?
Banned Books Week is a hoax. The latest example is the censorship—by public librarians—of yet another book the American Library Association will never list on its annual "banned books" list. I have proven in the past:
but let's look at the current incident, another in a long string.
"No Go Zones: How Sharia Law Is Coming to a Neighborhood Near You" is a book by Raheem Kassam, Editor at Breitbart London, published a few weeks ago on 14 August 2017. It is the Amazon #1 Best Seller for Islamic Law. It is on Publisher's Weekly's Top 25 Hardcover Nonfiction list. Libraries are now beginning to stock it.
Not so fast.
Rebecca Eaton, Adult Services Librarian at Warren County Public Library District, Monmouth, IL, has chosen not only to censor the book, but also to brag about the censorship to tens of thousands of other ALA librarians on an open Facebook group. And notice the mocking of her own community:
Ok, guys. Liberal librarian in a rural community here. My heart is really hurting today. I am in charge of acquisitions for our adult collection, and I saw this book on Publisher's Weekly's Top 25 Hardcover Nonfiction list. I know that I need to be aware of my bias and not censor information, but it honestly brings tears to my eyes to think that I should probably purchase this for our patrons. Has anyone else had to purchase a book for your library that makes you want to cringe or hide in a corner to cry?
UPDATE: I decided against purchasing it, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that no one requests it. And if someone does request it, the answer is no; I cannot argue with them about whether or not the library should own it. I must honor my patron's request. But I will do so with an eye twitch as I awkwardly smile and comply. The eye twitch counts for something, right? 😅
Our patrons love political nonfiction and often eat up conservative titles :( I've been trying my best to create a balance between my liberal and conservative choices, but some of the new releases are rather upsetting. If I don't order this, past experience tells me that a patron is going to request it anyways :/
And on:
Usually if someone requests a book like this, I smile and remain silent, and make a mental note to never engage with this person in public.
And on:
I decided against purchasing it, but it was some sort of Fox News recommendation 🙄 Meaning that if one of our several patrons who get their political insights from Fox News happens to come across it, then...it will come to my desk as a request 😞
Meanwhile, many other librarians piled on, against the author, again the book, against other authors, including Milo Yiannopoulos, and even against "Islamophobia," like this former University of Iowa librarian:
This book is based on lies and the idea of no-go zones has been debunked by the governments of the nations that right-wingers claim have them. Keeping in in the library would be a mistake, and a cave-in to hatred and xenophobia and Islamophobia. If a Nazi wants the book, let him buy it himself and not use taxpayer dollars for it.
Notice that all readers of conservative books are Nazis: "If a Nazi wants the book, let him buy it himself and not use taxpayer dollars for it."
But they loved Antifa books: "You should get this as an opportunity view. Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook."
These are the people in charge of your public libraries. These are your official government censors. They appear as helpful librarians. But they mentally sidestep censorship by calling it "selection" from approved lists.
Even Judith Krug, the creator of Banned Books Week, said:
So Raheem Kassam's book gets criticized for the very things BBW's creator said libraries must include anyway. Yet his book gets censored. For example, one librarian said, "I got a patron request for a similar title a few weeks ago and I was able to say no because of a lack of professional reviews." That librarian is obviously oblivious to what ALA's Judith Krug said, but it's a convenient excuse to censor books librarians personally oppose.
The point here is Banned Books Week is proven to be a hoax yet again. It won't list "No Go Zones: How Sharia Law Is Coming to a Neighborhood Near You" as a banned book. It certainly won't list that librarians banned the book and bragged about such censorship to each other. Banned Books Weeks is this very month and there will be zero mention that Rebecca Eaton, Adult Services Librarian at Warren County Public Library District, Monmouth, IL, banned the book, bragged about the censorship, and many other librarians piled on.
Anyway, the book is now a "banned book" officially censored from at least one public library. So I'm going to go buy it, and I hope my readers do as well. Sometimes fighting censorship is easy. In this case, buy "No Go Zones: How Sharia Law Is Coming to a Neighborhood Near You." Your librarian doesn't want you to read it. Find out why. Then recommend your library carry the book.
Here is the entire Facebook conversation to date, http://tinyurl.com/NoGoZonesCensorship, since ALA makes it a regular practice to delete—or censor—conversations they don't want the public to see.
Finally, here's a list of banned authors, according to that ALA censorship brag:
Raheem Kassam: "It's a horrid piece of (breitbart) investigative propaganda and fear mongering."
Bill O'Reilly: "Every single Bill O'Reilly book has been a painful purchase."
Dinesh D'Souza: "I literally have to hold my nose when cataloging anything by Dinesh D'Souza. And I was very glad to see his recent Hillary-bashing book withdrawn from our collection for low demand."
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B Jenkins: "Every book from the Left Behind series."
Milo Yiannopoulos: "Pictured: me, when patrons request 'that book by Milo with the Greek last name'," "Milo attacked my friend by name, fuck that guy."
Irshad Manji: "Usually if someone requests a book like this, I smile and remain silent, and make a mental note to never engage with this person in public."
H. W. Crocker III: "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War. I wanted to burn it, but added it and shelved it properly 😩."
Regnery Press: "Regnery Press? Before you buy one of their books, read up on their history. This is a family business which has supported white nationalism for decades."
—
NOTE ADDED SAME DAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2017, ONLY LATER IN THE EVENING:
The trigger finger on censorship fires again, from the nation's self-arrogated censorship police. Did you notice I archived the Facebook page in question at http://tinyurl.com/NoGoZonesCensorship?
Did you see I said, "Here is the entire Facebook conversation to date, http://tinyurl.com/NoGoZonesCensorship, since ALA makes it a regular practice to delete—or censor—conversations they don't want the public to see."?
And ALA deleted the page—on the same day I published this reportage.
Was I right or was I right?
I suspected ALA would be embarrassed by this public exposure of how it practices censorship of conservative authors (and promotes Antifa fascism) on a daily basis, especially in the weeks before the annual Banned Books Week hoax begins. And sure enough, this very same day that I published the post, the Facebook admission of censorship has itself been censored. Completely removed.
Here's how it looks now:
"This post has been removed or could not be loaded."
Banned Books Week truly means absolutely nothing to the people who created the hoax week. They are censorship experts! They practice censorship every single day!
Diversity of thought? Perish the thought!
They will continue to censor conservatives and conservative thought and conservative books daily (just like they never invite conservative speakers to any ALA conventions), they just won't be so stupid/oblivious as to brag about it in public then be forced to censor themselves. After all, Rebecca Eaton is a newbie, having just been hired just two or three months ago in June or July 2017. This censorship will help her and other librarians learn they should not speak publicly how they regularly censor political topics and people they oppose politically. The ends justifies the means! "Libraries Are Not Neutral Spaces"!
Indie authors love seeing their books in public libraries. Author Kevin DuJan displays his obvious excitement at seeing his book in the Harold Washington Library, the jewel of the Chicago Public Library.
Below are his pictures as he goes to the library, enters, finds the book in the catalog, then on the shelves. Lastly, he proudly holds the book he cowrote that he found in the library.
Just today the American Library Association published its "core values" of "equity, diversity and inclusion," but don't believe it. Shut Up! is one of a number of books librarians will slam, hide, or just not buy in the first place. In other words, censorship. See: "ALA and Affiliates Issue Joint Statement on Libraries and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion," American Library Association, 3 August 2017.
By the way, the American Library Association tries to take away Second Amendment rights, even blaming guns and the National Rifle Association for terrorism, and working to force the Florida Library Association to reverse its position in support of Stand Your Ground gun laws:
Likely as a result of ALA interference, local libraries sometimes have to be officially ordered to take down the phoney "No Guns" signs or threatened into doing so:
So if you see a sign saying "No Guns" in your library, that's like a magnet for criminals with guns, and you, as a law-abiding citizen, can feel free to ignore the sign, depending on your state laws. "No Guns" signs in libraries don't work.
Greetings. I’m Dan Kleinman from SafeLibraries® brand library services. I provide public awareness of crime and sexual harassment in libraries and inappropriate books in schools due to American Library Association policy.
It has come to my attention that you are allowing a “public” meeting to occur that violates your meeting room policy. I say “public” in quotes because it is not a public meeting. It is only for a certain portion of the public and specifically excludes another portion. That violates your meeting room policy and general principles of free speech in public buildings. https://www.stmalib.org/about-us/library-policies/meeting-room-policy
Using clever wording to get around having to comply with your meeting room policy may be clever in your minds, but it is not legal. The clever aspect is to ask parents to sign a waiver allowing children to attend a meeting without their parents, but where children will not be admitted without that waiver. It is an effective bar against parents no matter how cleverly it is done. "Parents are welcome to wait in the general Library areas, or in the other room we have reserved," says the people promoting the meeting: http://wash.org/sex-ed/ That means parents are not welcome to attend the meeting. That violates your meeting room policy.
The American Library Association has very good meeting room policy samples and reminds libraries they need to have good meeting room polices and to follow them. I support the American Library Association in this area. You have a good meeting room policy. You do not follow it.
It is on this basis that I will begin to seek legal means to force compliance with your own meeting room policy. Legal action will be too late to stop you from violating the policy now, but there may be serious consequences for your actions should you continue to violate that policy.
My advice would be to allow parents to attend, making the meeting compliant with your own meeting room policy, or to cancel the illegal meeting and reschedule it to when the meeting policy is being properly applied. That will obviate any legal action. Either means is really simply.
No one is saying not to have any particular meeting. You just have to have meetings in compliance with your own meeting room policy. If you stray, you may be sued.
Let’s be clear I take no joy in getting involved in this matter, and I am only seeking to have you apply your own policies else sustain consequences for not having done so. This will be pain of your own doing. You are violating your own policy. I’m just the messenger calling you on it. So please do everyone a favor and either allow everyone to attend the currently scheduled meeting in accordance with your own meeting room policy or cancel it until you find a means to comply with your own meeting room policy.
That the meeting may be a “private” one as defined in your policy doesn’t absolve you of anything. Your policy states, in bold, because it is obviously so important, “Any use of the room which disturbs library customers or operations is prohibited.” And, to know if library customers might be “disturbed,” one merely needs to look at your own statements about the meeting when you initially cancelled the meeting the first time it was scheduled. You said at https://www.stmalib.org/pdfs/pr/LibraryTrusteesPressRelease.pdf “After careful review and unanimous decision, the Library Board and the Library is not moving forward with a program on sex education. This decision is based on our concern for the polarization of the topic in our community. We believe that any value to the proposed educational program would be smothered by diverse and divisive positions.” So the meeting is clearly “disturbing” to patrons, as you yourselves made so clear, thus it is prohibited, in bold type.
My understanding is blocking of parents from attending the meeting is what is most disturbing. Parents want to be able to discuss the issues that their children are learning, but that will be impossible since they are not allowed to attend. While that may be acceptable in a school environment or other such venue, this is a public library having a meeting room policy that is being willfully violated by allowing the private party to use a clever means of requiring waivers that in effect block adults from attending, so far as I can tell.
So it’s really simple. Follow your policy and allow parents to attend the existing meeting or reschedule until the means to follow the policy is employed. If you do not follow your policy or use a clever means to fool people into thinking you are following your meeting room policy when you are not, that’s when the trouble begins, and it will be trouble of your own making.
I am CC’ing the local government since while libraries enjoy autonomy to act within the law that created them, they do not have autonomy to act outside the law, and if your local government does not stop your ultra vires activities, it too may be liable.
I note, by the way, that the library already appears to have violated the law with respect to meeting room policy. The April 2017 agenda https://www.stmalib.org/board/Agenda_April17.pdf (NOTE ADDED 23 MAY 2017: link since deleted, see full comment below) says, “Executive Sessions: Meeting Room Policies.” That violates your state’s open public meetings law; you are required to talk about meeting room policy issues in public, not in executive session. See http://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/OpenGov%20Documents/omaChapter4.pdf Having already violated state law will not help you in any way should legal action be brought against you.
I’m certain you can see what I have said is quite reasonable.
Can you imagine the ruckus you yourselves will cause if parents attempt to enter the “public” meeting then are blocked or even arrested for attempting to do so? Then even your police department will be drawn in to the resultant mess.
And I urge parents to bring video cameras to the public building and keep the tape running before, during, and after they attempt to enter the “public” meeting. Tape the whole meeting — it’s a public meeting, why not?
You have a brewing problem on your hands yet a very easy means to address it.
My name is Michael Blackwell, and I am Director of St. Mary’s County Library.
Thank you for your email.
In response, I am copying Mr. James LaRue, Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom & Freedom to Read Foundation of the ALA, and Ms. Deborah Caldwell-Stone of the ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Office, with whom we have already been in frequent communication on this matter. I am also copying our State Librarian, Ms. Irene Padilla. I am also copying our attorney, Mr. Joshua Brewster.
In reply, at least for now, I will only provide you some information. Our meeting room policies currently allow private groups to reserve space. You have pointed to the ALA’s guidelines on meetings, which may be found here. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/meetingrooms Please note this: Written policies may include limitations on frequency of use, and whether or not meetings held in library meeting rooms must be open to the public. If state and local laws permit private as well as public sessions of meetings in libraries, libraries may choose to offer both options. The same standard should be applicable to all. Our policies do not state that meeting rooms that have been reserved for private functions must be open for public use. The event you refer to is not a library sponsored meeting. The group that has reserved as a private space is requiring a parental signature to attend the program, not us. Under our policies on private use of the meeting rooms, they would be within their rights to close a space in this way. Any parent attending would have to agree to this restriction ahead of time. This invalidates a statement you have made: Parents want to be able to discuss the issues that their children are learning, but that will be impossible since they are not allowed to attend. Any parent allowing their child to attend would understand this. Your proposed legal action seems like an effort to allow people unrelated to the teens, who have their parents’ blessing and permission, into the room. With this in mind, I ask that you reconsider your position.
My understanding is that the group reserving the meeting rooms are offering a public forum as well. Concerned citizens, including yourself should you be so inclined, may attend that forum.
Now that you have this information, I hope that we might have a discussion of this matter. I make no further reply for now nor any comment on our future course of action. You may well get a much fuller reply once I have had the opportunity to discuss this situation with Mr. Larue, Ms. Caldwell-Stone, our Trustees, and Mr. Brewster. I add only that the library does not endorse the content of the event this Sunday. We are only interested in the fair use of our meeting rooms.
Respectfully,
Michael Blackwell
Director, St Mary’s County Library
—
MY REPLY:
Dear Director Blackwell,
Thank you for responding.
Thank you for contacting the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom. On the issue of public library meeting room policy, they are pretty solid. I'm certain they will advise you correctly and I hope your library acts accordingly.
I appreciate the library board's meeting room policy allows for private events. But you neglected to address the original issue I raised about the line in bold text being violated and the statements your library already made proving the line in bold text would be violated should the meeting go forward as is.
Regarding the private event offering a public forum as well, that has two problems:
1) It is false. Advertising for the private meeting calls it "teens only," as shown in the graphic below, and the site's registration form makes no mention of such a separate event, at least it doesn't to this point in time.
2) The library board's allowance for a public forum does not address the underlying issue of the violation of its own meeting room policy. Actually, it evidences an intention to keep the potentially illegal meeting in place using yet another clever means. This may worsen potential liability. It is the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson approach to free speech, separate but equal. Can you image having a private party for an anti-Trump event and having separate rooms for adults and children into which neither may go? Of course your library policy would not allow for that. Similarly, your library policy does not allow for any separate but equal fiction already proven false decades ago in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
So your response may have the effort of worsening the cloud of litigation and liability under which the library board and the county government now operates. You neglected the key issue that violates the policy, and the library board's own statements about that key issue, and you suggested a separate but equal approach would be acceptable to ameliorate any deficiency. Besides, evidence shows there is no separate but equal event advertised nor planned.
This is good: "You may well get a much fuller reply once I have had the opportunity to discuss this situation with Mr. Larue, Ms. Caldwell-Stone, our Trustees, and Mr. Brewster." However, if the library chooses to go ahead with the meeting as currently planned in a manner that violates library policy, then speaking with them may be too little, too late.
I appreciate this is a tough and emergent issue for the library, but that is never an excuse for violating the law.
Good luck in guiding the library board accordingly.
Dan Kleinman
—
THE LIBRARY'S RESPONSE TO MY REPLY:
Mr. Kleinman:
I am legal counsel for the Board of Trustees for the St. Mary's County library system. I have reviewed your emails to Mr. Blackwell in regards to the reservation of two rooms at the Lexington Park Library on May 21. Your allegations are completely without merit, and I will not engage in the legal arguments here. I ask that you refrain from further contact with Mr. Blackwell and direct any further communication to me.
I appreciate your consideration.
Joshua S. Brewster
Attorney at Law
—
MY RESPONSE TO THE LIBRARY'S RESPONSE TO MY REPLY:
Mr. Brewster,
Of course.
Thank you for letting me know.
I urge you to read this book, it may help you considerably when representing the library board:
By juxtaposition, the publication makes it appear my efforts are in support of those using religious means and flyers to oppose the meeting.
To be clear, I seek to hold the library to its own meeting room policy, especially given the library has violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act. That violation is itself a violation of §23–405(f)(6), a second violation of the law. The library has violated at least two state laws and is about to violate its own meeting room policy. And, as explained below, the BayNet article proves the library board, as represented by the library director, has violated a second library policy.
Of course, it's too early for official determinations of the various violations to have been made, so naturally this is all my opinion, but you can all read the laws and policies yourselves.
So the library complains about free speech that it opposes, but doesn't complain when its own free speech meeting room policy is violated or when various state law is violated.
I see.
And notice how the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department is being informed by the library director. That means it is being misinformed. The library, if it goes ahead with the illegal meeting, will be holding illegal meetings, asking St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department to provide security, but not advising that the meeting is illegal as currently constituted.
You see, when you break the law, the crimes just keep piling up. A huge, public relations disaster is rolling downhill and no one's willing to stop it. If the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department enforces an illegal meeting, whether or not it has or has not been misled by the library director, then it too may have cause for legal concern.
Of course it should provide security, but it should not favor an illegal meeting. Adults should be allowed to attend the meeting, and the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department should help enforce their right to do so, as one possible example.
Lastly, "TheBayNet.com has reached out to SafeLibraries for comment on the pending litigation and has not yet heard back." I am not aware of such an invitation for comment. A spam filter may have caught it. I can be reached at 973-610-8296.
NOTE ADDED 19 MAY 2017:
Media reports now include that St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department will be providing security for the illegal meeting. It is a "private," non-library illegal meeting. Library operations are being disturbed just to provide security for this non-library event.
That is a second violation of the library's meeting room policy. The policy for "non-library functions" prohibits, in bold, "Any use of the room which disturbs ... operations." The need to hire or arrange for security for a "non-library function" disturbs operations, among other things. Indeed it is frequently used as the reason to cancel conservative speakers on American campuses. And this requirement is so serious it is the only substantive line in the policy that is in bold typeface. It's right there in black and white and bold.
It has been my experience that when libraries start breaking policies and laws, the ball starts rolling down hill from there. Then a desperate attempt is made to ridicule the whistleblowers so attention is drawn away from the actual violations and liability therefor. Eventually, the American Library Association will get involved, as it already has in this case, and advise librarians to destroy evidence so none will be uncovered by sunshine law document requests.
The illegal meeting is Sunday. As originally stated, simply allow parents to attend or otherwise restructure it to comply with the library board's policy.
I am not "self-proclaimed 'library watchdog.'" That was a name given to me by another reporter in another state. I adopted the name. But Joy Shrum uses it to ridicule me right off the bat, even right in the title.
I did not threaten to sue the library. I said I might consider it or others might consider it. Besides, when ACLU threatens to sue, does media mock them as busy body "watchdogs"?
I did not do what I did "over a planned Sex Education class for teens." I did it because the library is violating its own policies and its own state laws. She is playing the guilt by association game. I never once had a bad word to say about that class's contents nor its teacher nor its sponsor.
So right there in the title and very first sentence is fake news. That fake news is designed to spin the story so the whistleblower is the bad guy and the poor, put upon library board is angelic and would never break any laws or policies.
Okay, I'll start reading the rest of the obvious hit piece now.
And the issue for you and your community is significant. Who cares she wrote a hit piece on me, I get that all the time and American Library Association was even involved in a federal lawsuit to silence me about its homophobia and child pronography facilitation. I was dismissed out twice and ALA could not censor me. These hit pieces don't bother me in the slightest. I am so not intimidated by child pronography facilitators and their supporters.
But from your community's perspective, you have media actively working to provide air cover for the library board's lawlessness and possibly your county government allowing the lawlessness to proceed.
I see the rest of the article now. It's Joy Shrum and Bay Net acting as the advocate for the library board, presenting my legitimate arguments and having the library director slough them off. There's no serious consideration of the issues raised.
Your media are working against you. Nice, huh?
And she doesn't even link to my publication like she did last time, before she starting spinning fake news for the library board. That's exactly what ALA does to prevent people from seeing what I say, unfiltered by the bias.
Am I being harsh on her and Bay Net? Perhaps, but this particular article of hers will, in my opinion, harm your community by misleading them about the facts and the laws and policies being broken by the library board and possibly the county government.
You've got a big problem down there, and now it has expanded to your media.
If you mean the "private" meeting, then multiple library policies were violated in multiple ways, and if so, illegal would mean not in accordance with existing policy -- I'm not sure if a library board violating its own policies is illegal per se or if some other term applies.
If you mean the open public meeting of the library board in April where the meeting room policy was discussed per agenda in the executive session and not in open session, then that would violate Maryland state law.
Having said that, the illegal meeting of the executive session -- the 1st meeting -- preceded the illegal "private" meeting -- the 2nd meeting --. Indeed, how to handle the 2nd meeting was likely discussed at the 1st meeting. The 2nd meeting is the fruit of the 1st meeting. The 1st meeting was illegal. The 2nd meeting violated library policy but was held per the illegal 1st meeting. It is fruit of the poisonous tree. It too is illegal.
Were the library interested in avoiding what's about to ensue as a result of the library board's lawlessness, it should announce that it will discuss at an open meeting exactly what it discussed in the executive session in April, and provide the recording of that executive session to prove it has done so, or, even more easily, simply make public the recording of that illegal executive session meeting.
That's how easy it would be to make this all go away. Everything else that happened after that is the fruit of the poisonous tree. So if the library board reverses its initial illegal action, legal liability and the ensuing consequences melt away just like that.
Of course all this is all my opinion. I am not a practicing attorney. I am not providing legal advice.
But the law is the law, I can read it as well as you, and being a library or a librarian does not provide exemption from the law.
The library board and director has been counseled by the American Library Association that I am a really terrible person and that they should not give an inch, else I would become even more of a terrible person. Your library board, so far, is following ALA misguidance to a tee, so far. ALA is even part of the library's mission:
Notice there it says, "A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of ... age...." Yet that is EXACTLY what occurred here, and likely exactly what was discussed at the 1st meeting in violation of the Maryland Open Meetings Act.
I hope you can help your library board to get over its obsequiousness to ALA. ALA will not pay one iota for the mountain of taxpayer money ALA causes communities to expend with bad advice trying to protect its own policies as applied locally. A library in Illinois, for example, ran up a bill of over half a million dollars to follow ALA advice to defend against child pornography whistleblowers. The library eventually lost before the courts and the Attorney General, but taxes were raised on the citizens to pay for the effects of the bad advice from the ALA.
Sometimes that bad advice is actually illegal advice. ALA, for example, the very same person Michael Blackwell says he consulted for help, wrote to librarians telling them to destroy evidence precisely to keep people from obtaining public documents under that state's open records act. This is the person advising your library board and library director:
So your library board will not bend. It will continue on with the illegality, goaded on by ALA, so ALA is happy I don't get a feather in my cap.
I'm not looking for a feather in my cap. The library board is violating the law and I just exposed the lawlessness.
If you or someone convinces the library board to release the video recording of the illegal April executive session and show it to the public, your library board will have righted its wrong, and I will withdraw all my concerns over the illegality of that 1st meeting and the subsequent fruit of the poisonous tree.
NOTE ADDED 23 MAY 2017:
I have uncovered what appears to be destruction of evidence, though it could be just a coincidence. The April 2017 Meeting Agenda has been removed from the library's web site. That's the page I linked in my original Notice to the library about the potential for having violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act since it listed "Executive Sessions: Meeting Room Policies." The web page housing the agenda and the minutes now has no agenda listed:
Library deleted the link to the April Agenda that proved a violation of MD OMA.
The link to the agenda I provided in my initial Notice to the library, shown above and in the graphic below, now gives the 404 page not found error, shown below:
Library deleted the April Agenda that proved a violation of MD OMA.
That further cements the violation of the MD OMA law. It seems clear to me the library board had something to hide and illegally used an executive session to hide it.
The American Library Association is the nation's top facilitator of child pornography. Enabling ALA in this facilitation is the Institute of Museum and Library Services [IMLS]. President Trump seeks to defund IMLS. That scares ALA that stands to lose millions in future funding, like the $9,589,105.00 IMLS has granted ALA in the past to help enable its facilitation of child pornography, even if indirectly by freeing up funding for furthering the facilitation.
#SaveIMLS is ALA's effort to keep the child porn facilitation funding flowing and keep awarding the libraries committing CIPA fraud by the millions of dollars since they follow ALA policy. Of course it is worded as saving libraries or "building youth literacy skills" or "maker spaces" or "libraries matter" or "libraries transform." ALA mocks parents who want to act on behalf of children but they sure use the trick when it really is faked for self gain.
Can you imagine if ALA was honest? #SaveIMLS! "Libraries facilitate child porn!" "Child porn is your First Amendment right unless you are caught and a judge says otherwise!" "We defend all child porn viewers from invasion of privacy in public libraries!"
Worse, #SaveIMLS is astroturfed, meaning if you see in newspapers that people and libraries oppose losing IMLS funding, it is because ALA put them up to it. It is literally fake news. Faked fake news. ALA astroturfed on net neutrality despite IRS 501(c)(3) rules, so why should it not do it again? It is doing it again and
It comes complete with a child character from Harry Potter chopping off the head of a snake, red blood and all, saying #NevilleFightsBack. #Resist! Meaning, apparently under the circumstances and given ALA's general hostility to the President, Neville fights back against the President of the United States by chopping off the head of the snake. That would be Donald Trump. Excellent propaganda to get kids to "#resist" and astroturf for ALA's #SaveIMLS:
There's so much more evidence, but that's enough for now. Just take a look at Sharyl Attkisson discussing astroturfing at a TED Talk:
American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries
Log Number:
NE-01-00-0003-00
Fiscal Year:
2000
Award: $149,924.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Education and Training
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-06-05-0112-05
Fiscal Year:
2005
Award: $239,416.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Research
Recipient Type:
Library
In this project, the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Research and Statistics and the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) will survey library networks, consortia, and cooperatives to develop a clear and current understanding of how library networks and cooperatives operate and the many ways these collaborative organizations help advance learning communities. Currently, library planners and policy makers must rely on outdated and inadequate information because they lack reliable definitions and sufficient data. The project will develop definitions and classifications in a Web-based dictionary and create an online report generator. All resources developed in the project will be freely available from the ALA Web site. ASCLA will provide ongoing support and updating of the data after the end of the grant period.
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-06-12-0494-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $486,587.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Research
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
Management of Content and Collections
21st Century Skills
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Community
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Community
Access to Content and Collections
The American Library Association and the University of Maryland, in partnership with the International City/County Management Association, will conduct a three-year study of public libraries as providers of digitally inclusive services and resources. Digital literacy and digital inclusion are becoming increasingly important aspects of individual and community success. This study will generate new understanding of the roles public libraries are playing, and gaps or needs that must be addressed to help libraries fulfill their vision of equitable access for all. Building on the methods of the long-running Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study, this new investigation will provide useful new data for public policy decision makers and funders.
Public Library Association
Log Number:
LG-06-13-0203-13
Fiscal Year:
2013
Award: $499,741.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Research
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
The Public Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children, divisions of the American Library Association will support a three year project to conduct research that will examine how library programming about early literacy development affects parent behavior and engagement. Through the support of parent focused early literacy services and programs, public libraries can play a key role in helping children become ready to read and be ready for school. However, the research demonstrating the impact of parent education programming at public libraries has not been undertaken. “Bringing Home Early Literacy: Determining the Impact of Library Programming on Parent Behavior,” will determine whether parents or caregivers who engage in early literacy practices with their children help them develop the early literacy skills they need to be ready to read.
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-07-10-0228-10
Fiscal Year:
2010
Award: $581,609.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Demonstration
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
Community
The American Library Association will partner with the University of Illinois, the University of Maryland, and Florida State University to develop a Web-based resource to help libraries and governments provide better e-government–related services such as filing taxes, applying for citizenship, enrolling children in schools, and applying for social services. This project will enable greater coordination between government agencies and libraries, reduce costly duplication of effort, and provide a more comprehensive model for serving users of e-government. The Web-based resource will include useful content, tutorials, best practice recommendations, an embedded government information digital reference service, guidance on the provision of e-government services, an online forum for service providers to share and exchange information, and tools to facilitate local customization of e-government services provision in libraries. The project will design, develop, and test the Web-based resource in coordination with multiple states and public libraries.
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-07-12-0495-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $249,867.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Demonstration
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
Community
Building upon earlier planning work supported by IMLS, the American Library Association and its partner StoryCorps will develop and implement “StoryCorps @ Your Library,” a replicable program to be piloted at ten public libraries that will be selected from across the country. Recipient libraries will receive equipment, training, promotional materials, and other resources to help them implement community documentation projects using the popular StoryCorps interview model. Local libraries will retain copies of all interviews, but preservation copies will also be deposited with the Library of Congress. The project team will produce freely shareable training materials to help public libraries better understand strategies for sustaining local oral history programs.
American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries
Log Number:
LG-07-12-0571-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $249,330.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Demonstration
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
21st Century Skills
Community
The American Library Association’s Association for College and Research Libraries will partner with the Association for Institutional Research and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities to design, implement, and evaluate a new program that helps academic libraries develop new assessment plans that better reflect library contributions. The program will focus on library impacts in key areas such as student learning and success. As part of the project, 300 teams, each consisting of librarians and other campus representatives from U.S. colleges and universities, will receive training in data-informed advocacy, and each team will develop an assessment plan appropriate for its campus and academic library.
American Library Association, Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies
Log Number:
LG-55-11-0346-11
Fiscal Year:
2011
Award: $33,968.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
The American Library Association (ALA) will conduct a four-month planning grant as the beginning of a multiyear collaboration, making StoryCorps services accessible to public libraries across the country. StoryCorps is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to record, preserve, and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs. Drawing on the knowledge of a diverse advisory group of library professionals, ALA and StoryCorps will convene a Board of Advisors to aid in the planning and design of this collaborative national program. In doing so, it will create a replicable model resulting in increased programming opportunities at libraries and collection growth that can benefit institutions of all sizes and their communities.
Association of College and Research Libraries
Log Number:
LG-62-11-0216-11
Fiscal Year:
2011
Award: $99,985.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
Two national summits will be convened to recommend strategies that help academic libraries better demonstrate their value and better explain how their services align with the institutional goals of colleges and universities. The Association of College and Research Libraries, in partnership with the Association for Institutional Research, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and the Council of Independent Colleges, will collaborate to host the two events, which will serve as the basis for a white paper that summarizes findings and establishes recommendations for future action.
American Library Association, Young Adult Library Services Association
Log Number:
LG-62-12-0538-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $99,937.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
21st Century Skills
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Community
The American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association will conduct a yearlong series of national forum activities to bring together key stakeholders from libraries, education, technology, adolescent development, and the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Invited participants will meet both virtually and face to face to explore the world of young adult library services and ultimately produce a white paper that will provide direction on how these services needs to adapt to better meet the needs of 21st century teens.
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-62-13-0210-13
Fiscal Year:
2013
Award: $99,996.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
Preservation, Conservation, and Care of Content and Collections
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Access to Content and Collections
The American Library Association’s (ALA) Public Program Office will use its grant to develop and disseminate a white paper that documents the characteristics, audiences, outcomes, and value of public programming in libraries at a national level. The project team will examine general trends emerging from recent evaluations and use that data to create a framework for describing public programming in libraries, identify gaps in current knowledge, and develop research strategies to serve the field. Assessing the state of library programming on a national level will increase understanding of how library programs increase broad public access to knowledge and foster support for lifelong learners across diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
American Association of School Librarians
Log Number:
LG-62-13-0212-13
Fiscal Year:
2013
Award: $99,398.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Community
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Access to Content and Collections
Early Learning
The American Association of School Libraries will host a national forum to determine if a causal relationship exists between strong school library programs and student academic achievement. The forum will lead to the creation of an interdisciplinary, networked community of researchers focused on causal research in school libraries that meet the rigorous criteria for scientifically based empirical research. While past studies have suggested a correlation between school libraries staffed by professional school librarians and containing adequate resources to increased student achievement, further progress requires the more rigorous experimental design of causal studies. Fifty invited scholars from the school library and related research fields will participate in the forum, which will lead to the publication of a white paper that will guide further inquiry on this topic.
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-00-12-0755-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $50,000.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
The Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association, will partner with Influx Library User Experience Consulting in this planning grant to develop and deploy a lightweight prototype of a web-based “summer reading app”. The project team will then coordinate with other organizations, including the Digital Public Library of America, to use the prototype software application as a means of gathering feedback from a variety of stakeholders, as to what features and functions would be desirable in a more fully-functional software application, to support summer reading programs in libraries across the country. PLA will use this feedback to draft a fuller functional requirements specification to potentially guide future software development efforts.
American Library Association, Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)
Log Number:
LG-46-13-0234-13
Fiscal Year:
2013
Award: $25,000.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Issue Areas:
21st Century Skills
Community
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, will create National Guidelines and Best Practices for Financial Literacy Education (FLE) in libraries nationwide. Both guidelines and best practices guides will be located and freely available on the RUSA website. Guidelines will consolidate and standardize best practices, innovative thinking, and successful service delivery models for library-based FLE, offering an essential framework for interventions to help patrons gain financial knowledge, literacy, and even fluency. The guidelines and best practices will spark substantial improvements in how and how many libraries offer appropriately tailored FLE services, filling a substantial nationwide service gap. Documents will be complemented by single- and three-session FLE webinars to help prepare librarians and library staff.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-40-16-0137-16
Fiscal Year:
2016
Award: $243,922.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
Recipient Type:
Library
American Library Association's Public Programs Office will develop and deliver web-based and in-person workshops that equip librarians with skills like coalition-building and dialogue facilitation so they can better understand, support, and engage with their communities. To meet this goal, the American Library Association will collaborate with the National Coalition on Dialogue and Deliberation to create a broader offering of free community engagement resources for exploration learning by library professionals. Training will be provided through a series of free webinars and three in-person pre-conference trainings. American Library Association will also offer 25 travel scholarships for small and rural librarians to participate in the in-person training.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-40-16-0081-16
Fiscal Year:
2016
Award: $305,085.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
Recipient Type:
Library
The American Library Association's Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) will create a training program for library staff around college and career readiness services for middle schoolers. Working in partnership with the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, the project is geared to library staff in libraries with a service population of 15,000 or fewer, as well as libraries that are 25 miles or more from an urbanized area. Initially, the project will train 80 library staff through a highly collaborative and inquiry-based process before adapting the training into self-paced eLearning modules that are freely available to the library community. Additionally, YALSA will support a community of practice within its existing Teen Programming HQ to promote peer-to-peer learning and will develop, test, and refine a suite of college and career-readiness resources for libraries to adapt based on individual community needs.
For more information on the project: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/future-ready-library
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-00-15-0108-15
Fiscal Year:
2015
Award: $50,000.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
Recipient Type:
Library
The American Library Association will provide 50 scholarships to help a diverse group of librarians, library staff, and library students in the United States attend the World Library and Information Congress in Columbus Ohio. The scholarships will be provided to individuals in the early or middle-stage (20 years or fewer) of their careers who are not already actively engaged in International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). The project will help to ensure the next generation of participants and leaders on the global stage from the United States fully represents the diversity in the community and in the country.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-00-15-0114-15
Fiscal Year:
2015
Award: $498,755.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Research in Early Careers Development
Recipient Type:
Library
This research project builds on a prior IMLS-funded research symposium to find out what works at the intersection of formal and informal learning in the school library through a planned and coordinated research agenda. Project activities will build on previous investigations underlying learning in libraries, testing findings of research, theory, and best practices. The project team will make recommendations about next steps in evaluating the impact of school libraries on student achievement and help determine methodologies for future research. The authors will also help identify key features of educational interventions that can be used as indicators that an intervention is likely to develop key skills needed to have significant positive impact on student performance.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-06-07-0047-07
Fiscal Year:
2007
Award: $407,111.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
The American Library Association, in partnership with the Western Council of State Librarians, will develop a national voluntary certification program for support staff in rural or small town public and academic libraries. Needs assessments for the last fifteen years have called for a national, standardized certification program for library support staff. The three-year project will result in a set of core competencies and policies and procedures. It will provide alternative options for assessing current knowledge of the field and experience for non-traditionally trained library staff. The resulting plan will be tested in five sites and will be sustained by ALA.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-06-07-0051-07
Fiscal Year:
2007
Award: $358,690.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
The American Library Association’s Public Programs Office will create and administer the Online Resource Center for Library Cultural Programming (ORC), a professional development Web site to help librarians find authoritative resources for cultural programming, and will train librarians in cultural programming techniques. The ORC will organize and make accessible through links and online documents a wide array of national cultural program information and training tools, and provide access to successful "turnkey" programs developed by cultural organizations such as state humanities councils, thus extending the value of the original investment in the programs. The ORC will be particularly useful for librarians in small rural libraries who rarely can attend conferences and have little professional development funding. The three-year project includes a major evaluation of the Web site by librarians, educators, and students.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-06-10-0082-10
Fiscal Year:
2010
Award: $590,110.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
This American Library Association project focuses on disseminating information on the availability, accessibility, and value of the Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC) program; adding additional approved courses and competency sets for specializations; collaborating with state libraries and Library Technical Assistant programs to develop reciprocity agreements and promote the LSSC Program; and measuring the impact of the program on an estimated 900 participants and the services they provide in their libraries.
American Library Association, Office for Literacy and Outreach Services
Log Number:
RE-06-15-0073-15
Fiscal Year:
2015
Award: $106,669.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, in partnership with ProLiteracy, will develop online training and supporting resources to better equip librarians and library staff to serve adult learners. This project will put into practice ALA’s “Adult Literacy through Libraries National Library Literacy Action Agenda.” The project supports lifelong learning and addresses the need for community engagement by developing tools to help frontline library staff prepare people to fully participate in their local communities and our global society. This project provides the information and tools libraries need to go all-in on adult literacy.
American Library Association, Public Library Association
Log Number:
RE-56-12-0031-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $45,145.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Collaborative Planning Grant
Issue Areas:
Community
Community
The Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association, in partnership with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), will undertake a one-year collaborative planning project to design and develop a leadership training model for key staff in public libraries across the United States. This project will design, pilot test, and develop an outcomes-based evaluation plan to provide leadership training to public library administrators, senior managers, and staff who want to increase their capacity to lead within the library and the community. With insight and instruction from ICMA, the grant project will also create a mechanism for librarians to work with municipal officials towards enhancing the capacity of libraries to be more active and successful participants in community initiatives.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-00-12-0117-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $250,837.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
The American Library Association will partner with The Harwood Institute on The Promise of Libraries Transforming Communities, a scalable program that will advance community engagement, innovation, and transform the role of libraries in their communities. The project will develop the tools, innovations and resources that will help libraries lead a collaborative approach to community engagement and community development. It will address the need in local communities for public innovators and change-agents by preparing library leaders who can make more intentional choices and judgments about fulfilling the promise of libraries in transforming communities. The partnership will develop ALA capacity, train more than 350 librarians as facilitators to their communities, and create a pilot set of inter-related professional development components.
Public Library Association
Log Number:
RE-00-12-0119-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $291,179.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
The Public Library Association will partner with the ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies to develop an online collection of digital literacy resources that will be accessible to libraries, patrons, and other community-based organizations. The team will gather and evaluate existing state and public library resources related to digital literacy, and promote these resources to increase library awareness. Grant activities will include development of training curricula in English and Spanish, technology trainer competencies, handouts, and patron skills assessment.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-00-13-0096-13
Fiscal Year:
2013
Award: $50,000.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Issue Areas:
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
The American Library Association (ALA), in consultation with thought leaders from the library and information science community and from other sectors, will use its grant to establish the Center for the Future of Libraries, modeled on the successful American Alliance of Museums Center for the Future of Museums. The goal will be to provide library planners and community leaders with information resources and tools that will help them understand the trends reshaping their libraries and communities and incorporate foresight into their planning processes. ALA will focus on collaborative planning, initial program and product development, and laying the groundwork for economic sustainability.
American Library Association, Office for Diversity
Log Number:
RE-01-04-0015-04
Fiscal Year:
2004
Award: $928,142.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Master’s Level Programs
The American Library Association's Office for Diversity will double the number of underrepresented master's in library science students in its Spectrum Initiative program from 105 to 210 and will create mechanisms to aggregate and disseminate information about diversity recruitment and education initiatives. It will collaborate with Association for Library and Information Science Education to hold a national-level dialogue and build an outreach program to enhance the capacities of library schools to attract diverse students. Match: $936,384
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-01-07-0098-07
Fiscal Year:
2007
Award: $872,920.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Master’s Level Programs
Building on the success of the Spectrum Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships for ethnically and racially underrepresented students attending graduate library and information science programs, the American Library Association will initiate “REACH 21: Preparing the Next Generation of Librarians for 21st Century Library Leadership.” The project will foster the recruitment, matriculation, and early career development of 150 minority students in master’s-level library and information science programs; provide mentoring and coaching of sixty additional students from underrepresented backgrounds; establish a formal, year-long mentoring program that will leverage community and support networks and aid educational and early career retention; and create an outreach services component.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-02-11-0025-11
Fiscal Year:
2011
Award: $886,499.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Doctoral Programs
Issue Areas:
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Diversifying library and information science education is critical to the preparation of future librarians, the advancement of research within the field, and the sustained relevance of the profession and its practice to an increasingly diverse nation. The American Library Association Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship Program: Building Change will provide tuition and stipends for at least seven ethnically diverse students pursuing PhDs in library and information science at one of 21 participating academic programs. Currently, only 15 percent of doctoral degrees awarded by library school programs are to ethnic minorities. Funding from IMLS will support fellows’ first two years of study while participating programs will fund subsequent years of required study.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-03-10-0063-10
Fiscal Year:
2010
Award: $432,495.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Pre-Professional Programs
The American Library Association will launch a three-year national initiative to recruit 50 ethnically diverse high school and college students to careers in libraries by developing a stronger professional presence at local career, education, and cultural events. New professionals from ALA’s Spectrum Scholarship Program and other national diversity recruitment programs will serve as field recruiters at events such as the McNair National Research Conference, the MechA National Chicana/Chicano Leadership, powwows, and the Annual Conference of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries
Log Number:
RE-06-05-0057-05
Fiscal Year:
2005
Award: $93,106.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
The Rare Book and Manuscript Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, will support a major national conference focused on examining issues of mutual interest to special collections library and museum communities and creating greater collaboration between them. The funds will provide 30 attendance scholarships for new and aspiring professionals from both fields, including 10 from professionally underrepresented minorities, and costs of speakers from the museum community. The conference is expected to attract 250 to 275 attendees. Titled Intersecting Missions, Converging Futures: Libraries and Museums in the Twenty-First Century, the conference will bring together practicing and aspiring professionals from both fields to investigate common concerns and to explore ways in which they can work together more closely in the future to fulfill their respective roles in society. Match: $96,589
Public Library Association
Log Number:
RE-06-14-0001-14
Fiscal Year:
2014
Award: $213,682.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
Recipient Type:
Library
The Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association, in partnership with the International City/County Management Association, developed the PLA Leadership Academy (successfully piloted in Spring 2013), with an asset-based curriculum that educated librarians on how to build relationships with local government and other agencies. In the Navigating Change and Building Community project, PLA will refine and implement the PLA Leadership Academy, measuring the impact on participants and their libraries. The project team also will convene a meeting of leadership training providers to share evaluation results and best practices and further raise awareness and understanding of the PLA leadership model.
$149,924.00 + $239,416.00 + $486,587.00 + $499,741.00 + $581,609.00 + $249,867.00 + $249,330.00 + $33,968.00 + $99,985.00 + $99,937.00 + $99,996.00 + $99,398.00 + $50,000.00 + $25,000.00 + $243,922.00 + $305,085.00 + $50,000.00 + $498,755.00 + $407,111.00 + $358,690.00 + $590,110.00 + $106,669.00 + $45,145.00 + $250,837.00 + $291,179.00 + $50,000.00 + $928,142.00 + $872,920.00 + $886,499.00 + $432,495.00 + $93,106.00 + $213,682.00 = $9,589,105.00
NOTE ADDED 17 JUNE 2017:
The Annoyed Librarian absolutely rips into the "ALA propaganda machine" on this #SaveIMLS hoax:
