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Sunday, March 27, 2022

Library Association Caught Lying; Dooms $3.5M Funding

Florida Governor Opposing Gender Queer
Library associations lie to legislators and the public to cover up school librarians grooming children.  But people are waking up to this.  

For example, the Idaho Library Association lied in defense of continuing to allow school librarians to make graphic pedophilic literature available to school children.  A legislator called out the lies and as a result the Idaho Library Commission lost $3.5M in funding.  People are realizing if you stem the flow of money to groomers, you can indeed act to slow their ability to groom.  

The grooming is so bad that even state governors are acting to stem the harm to children that school librarians trained by American Library Association (ALA) are doing, as illustrated top right.

Lesson learned: research and think carefully about the excuses librarians are using to perpetuate their ability to harm children, then use their words against them to deny them funding for continued grooming.

A report from Idaho provides an illustration of the above: “On Thursday, Rep. Julianne Young (R-Blackfoot) shared an email from the Idaho Libraries Association from March 2.  Young said it contained ‘a number of false and misleading claims about the content and potential effects’ of House Bill 666 – a proposal that would’ve made it a misdemeanor for librarians to lend any material deemed ‘harmful’ to children.” 

Source: “5th Time's a Charm: Idaho Legislature Passes Library Commission Budget,” by James Dawson, Boise State Public Radio News, 26 March 2022.

So, the Idaho Library Association lied and the Idaho legislator called out its “false and misleading claims about the content and potential effects” of an Idaho House bill (Idaho HB 666).  People are waking up, but not the kind of woke ALA wants.  “‘This is conduct that is unprofessional, it is disingenuous, and in my mind, it is unacceptable,’ Young said of the email Thursday.”

And she’s absolutely right.  Other legislators should similarly look at the “conduct that is unprofessional, … disingenuous, and … unacceptable” by their own state library associations and librarians, let alone ALA.

The content for which librarians are acting so unprofessionally?  It’s grooming content so bad Florida Governor DeSantis spoke out specifically against it, displaying images from a book called “Gender Queer: A Memoir” so pedophilic they had to be blacked out in areas and media will not even show them.  The problem is so bad that it’s festered to the point where state governors are now having to act since so many are frozen by the assumption librarians would never harm children.


These are books school librarians are giving to America’s children.  ALA gives them awards (Stonewall Book Award, 2020, Gender Queer) precisely to help librarians spread them further.  They are award winning!  They are protected by ALA’s so-called “Library Bill of Rights” that prevents librarians from making “age” distinctions!  It’s the First Amendment!  “FReadom”!  “We believe that school libraries do not have obscene or pornographic materials and using these terms to describe books, singular words, or small portions of a book is a tactic to undermine the value of books, public education and educators, particularly school libraries and school librarians.”  

Know that ALA trains librarians, “A librarian is not a legal process. There is not a librarian in the county—unless she or he is a lawyer—who is in the position to determine what he or she is looking at is indeed child pornography.”  It’s like they don’t know what a woman is because they are not biologists.  The people need legislators to act in the face of librarians who are the cause of the problem and who target children with “conduct that is unprofessional, … disingenuous, and … unacceptable.”

Just days ago ALA held a librarian conference where librarians were specifically trained to defy parents and legislators. Look how they lie:

“This is not an accident. What we’re seeing today reflects planning,” noted Caldwell-Stone. The “perfect storm” of the last few years (pandemic, political division, social media, and virtual meetings) has led to local and national attempts to exploit divisions and fears. These attempts also raise moral panic about false claims of pornography, critical race theory (CRT), marxism, and more. School and library board candidates are running on book banning platforms.  Politicians and organizers portray libraries as “dens of iniquity” and librarians as worse.

Source: “Censorship Preparedness at #PLA2022,” by Alec Chunn, ALSC Blog, 25 March 2022.

So while the ALA leader decries “attempts to exploit divisions and fears,” she exploits divisions and fears about “book banning” and “dens of iniquity,” all to make more graphic pedophilic literature available to more school children.

Even members of library boards of trustees who don’t toe the ALA’s groomer line are attacked as homophobes and war criminals, talk about “raising moral panic”:


Source: Coeur d’Alene Press, Friday, 18 March 2022

So, legislators, since librarians will not voluntarily stop giving children graphic pedophilic literature—quite the opposite, it’s getting worse—you can stop funding them and their groomer activities, as Rep. Julianne Young and fellow legislators have just successfully done.  Don’t give money to people grooming your children, even if they serve a once venerable public role.  Carefully research and examine the excuses librarians use to perpetuate their harm to children, then use their own words to deny them funding for continued grooming.

Sunday, March 13, 2022

School Librarians Admit Past Racism, Endorse State-Sponsored Reverse Racism

School librarians are all in on state-sponsored racism.  Read this posted a few days ago from the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division within American Library Association (ALA):

ALA Resolution 52 from AASL:

Because we so often run out of time to discuss the other resolutions, I wanted to share my 3 minute explanation of resolution 52 which we should be discussing and voting on today.

Why did AASL bring this resolution? This resolution is not solely an apology for inaction and for harm to others regarding past actions that were brought to our attention by author Wayne Wiegand. While looking at the actions, inactions and the silence of the past, we looked at ALA and AASL today to see how well we are working together on current EDI initiatives. We discovered that AASL has taken some beginning steps that others in ALA are unaware:

AASL has created documents and initiatives to support equity, diversity and inclusion and we listed these in the resolution in case you haven't seen them.

AASL has sponsored Spectrum Scholars program since its inception – our current president Kathy Carroll is a Spectrum Scholar.

Equity, diversity & inclusion are core values of our profession; EDI is at the forefront of AASL policies, our strategic, and our operational plans; and within every area of school librarian practice.

We acknowledge and we apologize for past actions and inactions that have harmed members of the profession and for the part AASL and ALA has played in historical racism and segregation in the library profession.

We commit to promoting diversity at the beginning of their careers, in leadership opportunities and in the greater work of AASL and ALA through an EDI lens in a sustainable manner.

We see the need for better communication throughout ALA so all are aware of EDI initiatives. One of the problems historically has not been that nothing was done, but that nothing was written or communicated to others within our profession about our work and opportunities.

AASL stands ready to lead loudly while creating opportunities and resources for collaboration with ALA divisions, ALA chapters, AASL chapters, ALA Roundtables and Ethnic Caucuses to create a stronger voice for our profession.

At a time when school and youth librarians are being targeted in our society for our intellectual freedom and social justice efforts; at a time when our BIPOC students are losing equitable access to school librarians and their libraries; at a time when we need to be standing together, taking action and communicating to others, this is when ALA needs to join with us to acknowledge the past, commit to doing better, and sharing our message of power and hope to promote Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Efforts in ALA while addressing historical effects of racism.

------------------------------
Diane R. Chen
School Librarian @ Stratford STEM Magnet School
AASL Division Councilor
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2021-2022 ALA CD#52 
2022 ALA Virtual January Council Meeting

Resolution to Promote Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Efforts in AASL
While Addressing Historical Effects of Racism

Whereas the American Library Association (ALA) Council adopted resolution CD#41-7618 “Resolution to Honor African Americans Who Fought Library Segregation” stating that the American Library Association participated both passively and actively, in the disenfranchisement of African American librarians, depriving them of the resources of a professional association;

Whereas between 1954 with the Brown v. Board of Education decision through 1968, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) took no action to publicly support Brown or to oppose segregated public school libraries;

Whereas Koch wrote in 1975 “from their late-nineteenth and early twentieth-century origins, southern state library and education associations to which school librarians belonged had been segregated. AASL not only said nothing and took no public position against these racist practices, it continued to accept delegates from segregated school library associations as AASL representatives until the mid-1960s. In 1951, AASL quietly decided that in its state-member Assembly, segregated black and white state library associations could each appoint one representative, but those representatives would each get only half a vote” ;

Whereas AASL acknowledges the racist experiences suffered by Black school librarians including Ernestine Denham Talbert, Jurl Portee Watkins, Carrie Coleman Robinson, and many others who did not have the voice of the association advocating on their behalf;

Whereas the inactions of AASL also caused harm to Black and Indigenous People Of Color (BIPOC) members of the school library profession;

Whereas AASL acknowledges harm done to fellow BIPOC colleagues and offers a sincere apology as an important and necessary first step in the process of reconciliation;

Whereas AASL must communicate how the association has worked to create documents and
initiatives to support equity, diversity and inclusion such as “Developing Inclusive Learners and  Citizens Activity Guide”, “Defending Intellectual Freedom: LGBTQ+ Material in School Libraries" Toolkit, Mary Keeling’s 2019-2020 Presidential Initiative, Office Hours, and Increasing Representation Mentoring Program (IRMP), and the Knowledge Quest March/April 2021 issue Black School Librarianship: Navigating Race and Creating Change;

Whereas, AASL has and continues to be a sponsor of the Spectrum Scholars program since its inception;

Whereas AASL affirms the importance of equity, diversity & inclusion as core values of our profession;

Whereas equity, diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of AASL policies, our strategic, and our operational plans;

Whereas equity, diversity and inclusion are within every area of school librarian practice including collection development, professional development, recruiting, mentoring, and instruction through our National School Library Standards and opens opportunities for future members to see themselves as an integral part of AASL; and

Whereas the inclusion of all perspectives enriches and builds understanding which in turn impacts our school library profession, our learners, and our community; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, that the American Library Association (ALA), on behalf of its members
  1. Acknowledges the American Association of School Librarians’ past actions and inactions that have harmed members of the profession;
  2. Apologizes to Black school librarians for wrongs committed against them and for AASL’s inactions on behalf of segregated school libraries and school library state associations;
  3. Apologizes to all Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) school librarians for AASL’s part in historical racism and segregation in the school librarian profession;
  4. Commits to promoting diversity in school librarianship in undergraduate and graduate programs and at school recruitment fairs;
  5. Commits to ensuring a diverse and inclusive membership by recruiting, welcoming and encouraging BIPOC school librarians to consider leadership opportunities within ALA and AASL;
  6. Commits to applying and prioritizing an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) lens in all aspects of the greater work of AASL and ALA;
  7. Commits to sustaining a more diverse and inclusive leadership within ALA and AASL in terms of ethnicity, gender, and ability representation;
  8. Communicates all EDI initiatives throughout AASL, ALA and the profession;
  9. Creates opportunities and resources for collaboration with ALA divisions, ALA chapters, AASL chapters, ALA Roundtables and Ethnic Caucuses to create a stronger voice for our profession.
Mover: Diane R. Chen, AASL Division Councilor 
Seconder: Erika Long, Chapter Councilor
Kathy Carroll, Councilor-at-Large
Kathy Lester, Councilor-at-Large
Brenda Pruitt-Annisette, MLS, Ed.D., Chair, Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee 
Dorcas Hand, Councilor-at-Large
Joyce Kasman Valenza, PhD, Councilor-at-Large
Dr. Daniella Smith, Councilor-at-Large
Sara Dallas, Councilor at Large
Amy Lappin, Councilor-at-Large
Sara Kelly Johns, Councilor-at-Large

Version 11/07/2021

References:

American Association of School Librarians. 2019. “Developing Inclusive Learners and Citizens Activity Guide.”
 
American Association of School Librarians. 2021, March/April. ”Black School Librarianship: Navigating Race and Creating Change.” Knowledge Quest vol. 49, no. 4.

Koch, Charles William. 1975. “A History of the Association of American School Librarians, 1950- 1971.” PhD diss. Southern Illinois University.

Wiegand, Wayne A. 2021. “Race and School Librarianship in the Jim Crow South, 1954-1970: The Untold Story of Carrie Coleman Robinson as a Case Study.” Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, vol. 91, no. 3, pp. 254-269. 2021 by the University of Chicago.

Wiegand, Wayne A., and Shirley A. Wiegand. 2018. The Desegregation of Public Libraries in the Jim Crow South: Civil Rights and Local Activism. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.

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- - - SOURCE LINK - - -


To me, the above "Resolution" tells me the so-called "National School Library Standards" are racist and anything a school librarian says in furtherance of such "Standards" will be racist.  To me, the above shows me school librarians are all in on state-sponsored racism also known as Critical Race Theory.  What does it tell you?

As an aside, these same racist school librarians are calling it "freadom" for school kids to have school access to graphic child p r nso why should we believe these racist groomers?  At least some people are no longer blindly accepting school librarian grooming, like Larry Sanger of Wikipedia and Knowledge Standards Foundation fame:


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@aasl @dianerchen @ks_found @lsanger @magnet_stem



















Thursday, March 3, 2022

Harmful to Minors Laws: Remove Exemptions for School Librarians - Idaho HB 666

Honorable Idaho Legislators:

I’m Dan Kleinman of SafeLibraries® brand library educational services. I have been studying library safety issues for well over two decades. 

I support 2022 Idaho House Bill 666 to eliminate the exemption of library and school employees from the law regarding dissemination to children of materials harmful to them.  There is a specific reason why I support HB 666 and why I urge legislators to support it as well.  

Librarians are trained that the provision of child pornography including graphics is an essential part of librarianship (per Library Bill of Rights—it’s merely an aspirational creed—that calls it “age” discrimination to keep children from any material whatsoever (https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill)) because only a judge can determine what is child pornography and only on a case by case basis, so until a judge makes that decision about a particular book, any books may not be considered child pornography by librarians.  This training has led to school children nationwide getting books in school that depict, for example in the case of “Gender Queer,” young boys giving oral sex to men.  The book is defended by librarians for 1) not being child porn, 2) being taken out of context since the Miller v. California case, librarians are trained, requires obscenity to be considered as a whole, and 3) being the “lived experience” of the LGBTQ+ community.

None of those reasons are true, but the point is school children are defenseless against school librarians and teachers making such pervasively vulgar books available to them as a matter of policy.  I think we can all agree that depictions of boys given men oral sex are harmful to minors.  Yet librarians give school children such books with alacrity, guided by their library associations to do so, such as the American Library Association that gave the book an “Alex Award” (https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/2020-alex-award-winners-2) as an adult book that has “special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18” (https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/alex-awards).  So, according to American Library Association, “Gender Queer” and its child porn depiction has special appeal for 12 year olds.  They are not even teens and librarians give such books awards to maximize the books exposure and get it into the hands of more children.  

These librarians who give children such books would be considered groomers were it not for the specific protection provided by current Idaho law that HB 666 seeks to strike.  Striking such protection will not turn librarians into instant groomers; rather it will incentivize them to stop providing school children with material harmful to minors.  Only Idaho legislators can make that happen, only by supporting HB 666.  We have seen librarians will not stop harmful materials from being provided to children in schools, rather they are encouraged and awarded for doing so.  Idaho legislators are literally the last line of defense for school children.  

When 18-1517 was enacted in 1972, school librarians were not intentionally providing school children with material harmful to minors.  Fifty years later, times have changed.  An Illinois ACLU board member joined American Library Association and she led it for fifty years, providing training such as this: “A librarian is not a legal process. There is not a librarian in the county—unless she or he is a lawyer—who is in the position to determine what he or she is looking at is indeed child pornography.” (https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Libraries-vs-police-in-a-suit-sparked-by-porn-1093410.php)  This, by the way, illustrates a huge double standard under which librarians operate.  While they claim they are not judges and cannot decide what is child pornography, at the same time they claim all sorts of legal reasons and legal cases to support their provision of harmful materials to children (https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/lawn-boy-and-gender-queer-the-trend-toward-book-challenges/).  They cannot have it both ways.

This is but the tip of the iceberg, a fifty year huge iceberg that has led to graphic pedophilic oral sex scenes in public school books, librarians who promote that, and an aged law that can no longer stop the damage being done.  

HB 666 is designed to change that.  It will stop the flow of material harmful to children in schools that school librarians themselves are directly responsible for causing.  

Librarians brought this on, not the bill’s sponsors.  This proposed law is not being brought by conservatives or Christians or activists or any other excuse not to pass it, rather it is being brought by five decades of ever lowering standards starting with the ACLU board member until the point where librarians are defending child porn for school children as “freadom” (https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/censorship-in-texas-freadom-campaign-inception-reflection-highlights/) or “intellectual freedom.”  

Even School Library Journal is in on it (https://www.slj.com/story/newsfeatures/courage-is-contagious-martha-hicksons-story-is-the-inspiration-that-we-need) by providing a detailed guide for how school librarians can defend such material when parents “attack” (https://www.slj.com/story/from-the-breaking-point-to-fighting-anew-school-librarian-martha-hickson-shares-her-story-of-battling-book-banning-censorship).  They act like they know what they are doing and everyone thinks that they do.  So they get away with it year after year for decades.  

HB 666 is a legislative means to stop it.  Given how school librarians are today, children have no defense against harmful material unless legislators act to pass HB 666.  Failure to act will mean graphic pedophilic scenes in school books will only get piled higher and deeper.  That ACLU/ALA leader Judith Krug was quoted as saying, “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. (9/18/95 Citizen Magazine [shown at top])”  

For the children of Idaho who have no other defenders in respect to 18-1517, please pass HB 666 to stem the flow of graphic child porn and other harmful material in Idaho’s public schools.

Respectfully,

Dan Kleinman
SafeLibraries® brand library educational services
SafeLibraries@pm.me

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