Friday, February 16, 2024

Poster Girl for ALA: 'That Librarian' Amanda Jones Indoctrinates Students Without Parents Knowing

Citizens for a New Louisiana recently won another court case against school librarian Amanda Jones who had sued them in an attempt to impose a gag order on library issues.  Michael Lunsford, a member of the organization, discussed a podcast episode from 2021 featuring Jones and Amy Hermon, the host of School Librarians United.  In the podcast, Jones discussed her program called the MESH Society that aims to replace STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) to incorporate instead media literacy, ethics, sociology, and history, to inject "social justice" (including "microaggressions") into the curriculum, without explicitly teaching social justice.  Lunsford expressed concern about the use of taxpayer money to promote a specific worldview and questioned whether parents were aware of these teachings.  He encouraged viewers to share their thoughts on the matter.  And feel free to comment below.

Here is Amanda Jones's MESH Society: 
Notice the loveb0mbing there: "We will announce your entrance into The MESH Society during morning/afternoon announcements and post on social media and our website." One of many examples:


From that, here is Amanda Jones's recommended reading:
It's an Amanda Jones cited story detailing replacing actual learning (STEM) with raising a Marxist critical consciousness (MESH):

Now we can see why Amanda Jones is the perfect poster girl for the American Library Association, an organization that spends decades minimizing information parents get about what librarians are doing.  I should write a book on this.

Here is a transcript of that commentary, followed by the video source and my X post with a recording of Amanda Jones and Amy Hermon high fiving each other over indoctrinating and s3xualizing children without "riling up" the parents:


Michael Lunsford:

Hey, all. Michael Lunsford here at Citizens for a New Louisiana. You know, I, I mentioned, uh, I think on our social platforms and I sent an email to all of our, uh, 23,000, uh, email subscribers the other day that Amanda Jones, the librarian that sued us back in 2022, has just, uh, we won again in the, the First Circuit court.

Uh, basically, well, she sued us, she wanted a gag order, so we couldn't talk about library issues. And why she didn't want the transparency organization talking about library issues is anyone's guess. But (laughs) we've got a great friend. You know, we do research. Uh, we're really good at it. We don't do, we don't, we don't stay on this library issue because I think, I get tired of stuff. I like to move around a little bit. I think you like variety too. After all, we don't go to the same restaurant every single day to eat the same exact thing, right? We mix it up, right?

So, that's where we are. We're, we're movin' around, but we're back on library. So, if you're not a fan of this issue, I apologize. But what Dan Kleinman found is nothing short of shocking.

So, back in March of 2021, before any of the other junk happened and we got sued and all of that, we have a podcast episode from, uh, it sounds in like the Teamsters Union, but it's actually called, School Librarians United. Apparently, it's a library union. (laughs) It's, it's a podcast run by one person, uh, but, uh, Amy Hermon is her name, um, March from 2021. 

Let's, let's listen to introductions just so you know this is, uh, Amy and also Amanda Jones. Listen now. 

Amy Hermon:

Welcome to Episode 118 of School Librarians United. I'm your host, Amy Hermon. So, I'm so excited today to be sharing conversation with old podcasting friends, Amanda Jones. Welcome back to the podcast. 

Amanda Jones:

Thank you for having me. 

Michael Lunsford:

All right. So, there we have it, uh, there's the podcast. It's put on by Amy Hermon. It is called, School, excuse me, yes, School Librarians United. Not public librarians, School Librarians United. Um, and of course, introducing Amanda Jones, the woman who sued us. Anyway, uh, let, let's continue.

Amanda Jones:

But I think that as a modern school librarian, you just gotta jump in. And you've got to, you know, take some risks. Yes, be fearless, take some risks. Another program that I started that happened over the summer with all of the, the social unrest and the issues in the news, um, I am in Southern Louisiana. And I had to be very delicate about this 'cause I don't wanna be... Let me just say, my district is not modern for th- (laughs)

I don't know how to say it. Uh, and by district, I don't mean my school, I mean, my community and some of the thinking. And, um, w- there's some of the thinking is still back in the '50s. 

Michael Lunsford:

So, w- we've heard this language before. You, you, you're thinking is still in the '50s. This is old-fashioned. You shouldn't be thinking these things. And, uh, this is, this is common with the drag queen story time stuff we saw back, uh, when we, (laughs) very early on in this organization, we stopped government funded drag queen story time in Lafayette. As far as I know, we're still the only organization in Louisiana for sure, and perhaps the nation that is actually blocked the drag queen story time event. Which honestly, let's face it, it's a drag show for three-year-olds, is what it is. 

Um, but this was the language you kept hearing. You're so old-fashioned. Why would you be against this? And it's like, why would you wanna s@xualize children at three-years-old? This is, this is weird. 

But anyway, they, they turned the tables on us, right? But if you listen, there was a very long pause while she tried to figure out how to say, uh, we're a bunch of troglodytes because we don't like this junk, or whatever she's about to tell us about. We're gonna get to that here in a second. 

There, also, "take risks." What are we taking risks on? Hmm, let's continue.

Amanda Jones:

And so, I knew that I wanted to teach my students some things, but I couldn't outright say it, "This is what I'm teaching." So, I developed a program called the MESH Society to incorporate media literacy which we all should be teaching anyway. But ethics, sociology and history, but infuse, um, some social justice in there without outright s- teaching social justice, if you read between the lines of what I'm saying.

Say it. 

Michael Lunsford:

The term again, we're teaching my students some things, but without outright saying it. And you... What were some of those things? She says, "Well, we have our standard stuff." And this is kinda the, the, um, common core that we talked about years ago, mixed in with this social emotional learning which is not allowed in Louisiana, uh, combined with the, um, what's the, diversity, equity, a- inclusion stuff, right?

We're, we're gonna take standard, what everyone accepts, and we're gonna interweave social justice in there. That, those are not my words. That's what was said right here in this podcast, back in 2021 before most of the trouble started. Uh, let's continue.

Amanda Jones:

I think a modern school librarian pushes things like, graphic novels and audiobooks and social justice. And, and, and you focus on the, what you're reading and not how many. So, the MESH Society program, it encourages and is completely optional, it encourages the students to read one book from each of those categories. And then they have to do a Flipgrid [a video discussion platform that requires a student to make a recording of himself for everyone to see and hear], and, um, tell me what they've learned. What h- What ideas have changed from reading these books?

Michael Lunsford:

So, here we go. We're, we're, we're encouraging children to read books about, what are the categories? Social justice is one of the categories. And then, so instead of me teaching it directly, and that's gonna come here in a minute, instead of me teaching this directly, I'm just giving these kids these materials for them to learn on their own, interwoven with acceptable materials to kinda conceal what we're teaching. Does that, does that, do you see how that works? Uh, let, let, let's listen to her, the rest of this explanation here. Very interesting stuff.

Amanda Jones:

Because I can't teach, outright teach s@xual harassment and consent at a fifth grade school. My community would just, you know, even though it needs to be taught. But they can read, Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee, which is written on a level four, the age group of my students. And I can encourage them to read that, and they can tell me what they have learned themselves.

Michael Lunsford:

Do you, see, see, there it is. Encourage them to read materials that propagate this world view, this social justice world view and just start, just, just pour it a little bit at a time into the kids. And who's paying for this? By the- But this is, these are s- public school librarians. Public school means, your tax dollars are paying for this. 

Uh, who's paying attention to this, you all? I mean, we're paying attention to it. Are you paying attention to what's going on in your schools? I know we hear about this, the DEI and all of this stuff. But did, have you actually heard a school teacher from Louisiana saying they're doing this? I'm, uh, we're providing it. Thank you, Dan Kleinman for pointing this out. This is fabulous. 

Listen to Amy Hermon, uh, who's going to applaud this. Listen. 

Amy Hermon:

I think that's amazing. I think that you have found a way to thread the needle and do it in a way that gives your students the benefit of, of all of the resources you can bring together. And do so in a way that is not going to agitate and stir up, uh, the, and rile up, uh, your, your parent base. 

Michael Lunsford:

So, you're hearing this. You're presenting information that would normally rile up the parents in your area. But you found a way to do it, so that no one's the wiser, no one makes any noise, there's no troubles. Shh, don't tell anybody. That's what's going on. 

Again, I'll, I'll, I'll say, uh, I'm, I'm not taking a position on this stuff. I'm just letting you know, is this okay with you, number one. Number two, Amanda Jones, again, is the w- uh, the former president from last year, president of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians, I believe is the name of the organization.

So, the school librarians, if they're unionized in Louisiana or they, they have resources that they use, they're getting them from this organization, the Association of School Librarians. And their head of that organization is talkin' about, how can we can teach the little kids in middle school stuff that their parent don't approve of without creating much of a disturbance. 

Leave your comments in the, uh, in the notes below. If you're on the website, you have to sign in, uh, and become a, uh, a subscriber to do that. It's free. Uh, social media, obviously you can, you can comment, respond. Let us know what you think. I really wanna know what you gu- especially if you're in Livingston Parish, I wanna know what you think of this. 

Until next time, keep doing it. Keep, keep doing your own research. Keep followin' things. (laughs) Follow the thread all the way to the end. And, uh, you know, share some of that with us too. Appreciate it. Til next time.






Oh look, Amanda Jones is going to spread her method of indoctrination of school children to other school librarians in yet another training:

SLS Communication Coordinator Meeting (REGIONAL MEETING - Amanda Jones)
Join SLJ Librarian of the Year Amanda Jones as she shares her biggest takeaways and top words of advice on how to stay proactive vs reactive in standing up for intellectual freedom, tips on how to transform your school's library one step at a time, and advocating for school libraries across the country. Join the discussion and learn about resources for advocacy best practices, protecting yourself as an advocate, building your professional learning network, and making your voice heard in your school, district, state, and across the nation. Together we are a force and we must stand united. Follow her journey as a school librarian who has learned to speak out on behalf of her students and libraries at librarianjones.com.
Bio: Amanda Jones is a 23 year educator and the current Past President of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians. She is the 2021 School Library Journal Librarian of the Year, a 2021 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, and the 2020 Louisiana School Librarian of the Year. She made national headlines for fighting back against censorship in her community when she became a target of extremists. Amanda is a co-founding member of Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship, a grassroots organization fighting attacks on intellectual freedom in Louisiana. She is the winner of multiple intellectual freedom awards from the ALA, AASL, and the Louisiana Library Association. She serves as the LLA Chapter Councilor for ALA and is a member of the AASL Chapter Assembly. Her book That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America, will be published by Bloomsbury in 2024. Find out more about her at librarianjones.com.

Finally, here is a publication from Michael Lunsford, one of the parents sued by Amanda Jones, ALA's Poster Girl—you know, "That Librarian":

Lunsford, Michael. “CAUGHT! Librarian Concealing Social Justice Push from Parents.” Citizens for a New Louisiana, February 15, 2024. https://www.newlouisiana.org/caught-librarian-concealing-social-justice-push-from-parents/.

Watch the 8:41min video in this X post for a true jaw dropping experience:


See also:

Kleinman, Dan. “Book Review of ‘That Librarian’ by Amanda Jones.” SafeLibraries® (blog), January 29, 2024. https://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2024/01/book-review-of-that-librarian.html.html.

—
URL of this page: 


Join World Library Association:

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Monday, February 12, 2024

Librarians Suddenly Care About Parental Rights: Freedom to Read Act NJ S2421 A3446

Librarians suddenly care about parental rights, but only to mislead people to pressure legislators to pass the Freedom to Read Act, NJ S2421 / A3446.  Look at tinyurl.com/testify2421 to see the disinformation campaign at work.  Examples:
  • In addition, banning books interferes with parental rights to determine what their family can read.
  • Parents: The bill protects my rights as a parent to offer my child a wide range of reading material.
  • The bill also protects the right of all parents to challenge materials by providing a process to follow in the event they believe materials need to be removed from a library.
  • Parents have always had the right to request that limitations be placed on their own child’s access to library materials; this bill retains that right.
All that is fake, phony, fraud.  Parental rights are removed by the Freedom to Read Act as I will be detailing here: 


Let's dig further.  Like child trafficking victims are trained to go out and get more child trafficking victims, that same document contains another link that gives students specific directions on how to astroturf for the Freedom to Read Act that will indoctrinate and s@xualize more children.  Click here.  That has instructions like, "Hybrid Template 1: Copy paste this template into your email if you want to use a pre-written message that contains some of your own thoughts about the value of diverse books. Be sure to personalize it with your name, town, grade, school, and your ideas for each of the highlighted prompts."  See graphic top right.  

Remember, what librarians mean by "diverse" or "diverse books" is "s@xually explicit material":


Here comes the worse part.  The information in that document comes directly from the American Library Association.  It's a giant astroturf technique to fool people into thinking like ALA, then they in turn get the legislators to think like ALA, and suddenly there's a law that embeds ALA's Chicago Way into states nationwide and parents lose their rights.  Let's look at the final paragraph in the document I first linked:
General: The bill addresses a broadly popular, non-partisan topic: the right to read. Americans on both sides of the political aisle oppose censorship. An October 2023 IPSOS poll found that 78% of Americans are less likely to support a candidate who favors book bans. Recognizing the danger of censorship, legislators in Illinois and California have already passed “right to read” bills. Similar bills are being advanced in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kansas, Wisconsin, Colorado, New Mexico, and Washington. As a national leader in educational excellence, New Jersey should join these states in establishing protections for intellectual freedom. Please pass the bill.
That language is substantially similar to the "long-term inoculation" American Library Association has done as detailed here, right down to the use of fake polls:
So after long-term inoculation in New Jersey, and now short term astroturfing of students and others to support the Chicago Way, here we are in New Jersey on the verge of passing a law written by ALA from Chicago, Illinois, that embeds Marxism: 
Oh yes, let me add this.  S2421 / A3446 seeks to exempt librarians from obscenity laws.  What?  Hello?  Of course we should not exempt people from obscenity laws, especially those giving obscenity to children.  But beyond that, isn't that a tacit admission school librarians are currently making obscenity available to children?

Should we not be arresting these people?  Should Martha Hickson, Roxana Caivano continue to get away with giving obscenity to children?  Why do they need an exemption if they are not already guilty of the crime?  Hello?  Anyone listening?  Anyone thinking?

Oh look, more astroturfing for the Chicago Way, this time from the New Jersey Association of School Librarians, the very organization S2421 / A3446 charges with creating model policies for school boards to adopt, “the commissioner shall consult with the State Librarian and the New Jersey Association of School Librarians….”  Don't expect any model policy to defend any parental rights or protect any children from harm in the slightest—just another reason why the Freedom to Read Act is flawed:

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Saturday, February 10, 2024

What Librarians Learn: Marxism; Inclusive Cataloging and Reparative Approaches

What do librarians learn?  Marxism.  For example, here's a book published and sold by American Library Association.  It's Marxism, only done by librarians working within government positions and funded by the government.  One more reason to defund ALA.  What needs to be repaired?  Capitalism and America.  See for yourself:

Inclusive Cataloging: Histories, Context, and Reparative Approaches

by Amber Billey, Elizabeth Nelson, Rebecca Uhl, ALA Core

NOTE:  This title will be available Summer 2024. You may place an order and the item will be shipped when it becomes available. 

Filling a gap in the literature, this volume provides librarians and catalogers with practical approaches to reparative cataloging as well as a broader understanding of the topic and its place in the technical services landscape.

As part of the profession's ongoing EDISJ efforts to redress librarianship’s problematic past, practitioners from across the field are questioning long-held library authorities and standards. They’re undertaking a critical and rigorous re-examination of so-called “best” practices and the decisionmakers behind them, pointing out heretofore unscrutinized injustices within our library systems of organization and making concrete steps towards progressive change. This collection from Core records the efforts of some of the many librarians who are working to improve our systems and collections, in the process inspiring those who have yet to enact change by demonstrating that this work is scalable, possible, and necessary. From this book, readers will

  • gain an understanding of the theoretical underpinning for the actions that create our history and be challenged to reconsider their perspectives;
  • learn about the important role of the library catalog in real-world EDISJ initiatives through examples ranging from accessibility metadata and gendered information to inclusive comics cataloging and revising LC call numbers for Black people and Indigenous people;
  • discover more than a dozen case studies drawn from a variety of contexts including archives, academic and public libraries, and research institutions; and
  • see ways to incorporate these ideas into their own work, with a variety of sample policies, “how to” documents, and other helpful tools provided in the text.    

Table of Contents


Introduction

Part I. History & Theory

Chapter 1. Ways of Knowing: The Worlds Words Create / Amanda Belantara and Emily Drabinski

Chapter 2. This Is the Work: A Short History of the Long Tradition of Inclusive Cataloging Critiquing and Action / Violet Fox and Tina Gross 

Chapter 3. Describing Themselves: Diverse Library Cataloging, 1930-1970 / Sasha Frizzell

Chapter 4. A (Very) Select History of Inclusive Cataloging / Karl Pettitt

Chapter 5. Did Libraries “Change the Subject”? What Happened, What Didn’t and What’s Ahead / Jill E. Baron, Violet B. Fox and Tina Gross 

Chapter 6. Accessibility Metadata and Library Catalogs: Current Outlook and Initiatives / Christopher Carr, Teressa Keenan, Chris Oliver

Chapter 7. Gendered Information and the Program for Cooperative Cataloging / Matthew Haugen and Michael L. Stewart

Chapter 8. From “Afrofuturist comics” to “Zombies in comics”: Inclusive Comics Cataloging from A to Z / Allison Bailund, Steven W. Holloway, Carole Sussman, Deborah Tomaras 

Chapter 9. Critical Cataloging Beyond the Core / Brian M. Watson 

Part II. Case Studies

Chapter 10. Words Matter: Creating a Harmful Content Statement for Your Public Library / Rachel Newlin and Aaron Bock

Chapter 11. Coming to Terms: Enacting Reparative Change in and Urban Public Library OPAC / Miriam Gloger and Amy Mikel

Chapter 12. Enhancing Subject Access to LGBTQ+ Materials: It's Not Just About the (Rainbow) Crosswalk / Jawahir Javaid and Becker Parkhurst-Strout 

Chapter 13. Access, Identity, and Context: Inclusive Cataloging in the Hayes Research Library at Perkins School for the Blind / Jennifer Arnott

Chapter 14. Reparative Description for Collection-Level Archival Records: A Case Study / Allison McCormack

Chapter 15. Reparative Cataloging as a Solo Librarian: a Special Library Case Study / Katie Yeo

Chapter 16. Representing Gender-Diverse Creators in Indiana University Cook Music Library's Online Catalogs / Laikin Dantchenko

Chapter 17. Promoting Inclusivity and Cultural Humility Through Cataloging: A Digitization Project / Elyse Fox, Lynn Sanborn and Pachia L. Vang

Chapter 18. A Place to Think About Inclusive Cataloging / Bronwen Bitetti, Vic Panata and Sebastian Moya

Chapter 19. Retrospective Cataloging Project for Respectful and Inclusive Metadata: Revising LC Call Numbers for Black People / Yuji Tosaka

Chapter 20. The Trans* Collections Project: Conducting a Diversity Audit to Assess, Grow, and Make a Collection More Discoverable / Brittany O'Neill, David Comeaux, Marty Miller, Michael F. Russo, Zachary Tompkins

Chapter 21. "It Isn't Part of Our Language": Engaging Indigenous Peoples to Facilitate Self-Naming in Subject Headings / Steven Folsom and Laura E. Daniels

Chapter 22. Out of Many, One: A Unified Approach to Inclusive Description at Clemson University / Jessica L Serrao, James E. Cross, Scott M. Dutkiewicz, Charlotte Grubbs, William D. Hiott, and Shannon Willis 

Chapter 23. Subject Heading Enhancement: A Reparative and Inclusive Practice at the University of Virginia Library / Jeremy Bartczak, Veronica Fu, and Carmelita Pickett

Chapter 24. Canceling “Primitive”: A Subject Heading Revision Fifty Years in the Making / Jamie Carlstone 

Chapter 25. One Step at a Time: Using Targeted Pilot Projects to Achieve Meaningful and Scalable Metadata Reparation / Savannah Lake, Joseph Nicholson and Jenn Brosek

Chapter 26. Automating Inclusivity: A Case Study Detailing how to Automate Inclusive Cataloging in Alma / Rachel Turner, Maggie McGee, Brian Morse, Leslie Feldballe, and Maria Planansky

Chapter 27. Inclusive Cataloging in an Academic Library Consortium / Allison Bailund, Anamika Megwalu, Julie Renee Moore, Yoko Okunishi and Israel Yanez

Chapter 28. Reparative Cataloging at The Washington Research Library Consortium: Moving Ideas into Action in the Shared Environment / Matthew Bright, Yoko Ferguson, David Heilbrun and Jacqueline Saavedra

About the Editors 


Amber Billey

Amber Billey is the Associate Director for Bibliographic Services at Bard College. Billey served as the Chair of the Leadership Team for the Core Metadata & Collection Section and Co-Chair of the Core Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is a member of the PCC Advisory Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and was Chair of the PCC Ad Hoc Task Group on Gender in Name Authority Records. She serves on the Advisory Board for the Digital Transgender Archive, and the editorial board for the Homosaurus – a linked data thesaurus for the LGBTQ+ community.

Elizabeth Nelson

Elizabeth Nelson is the Cataloging and Collection Development Librarian and Library Department Chair at McHenry County College, where she has worked since 2008. Prior to working in academic libraries, she started her career in public libraries and then spent seven years in special libraries. She is also the current editor of Library Leadership & Management.

Rebecca Uhl

Rebecca Uhl has over 30 years’ experience as a catalog and authority control librarian at Arizona State University. Currently serving as the Principal on the Acquisitions and Metadata Services team, she has experience as a manager, supervisor and department head, in addition to copy and original cataloging in all formats.

Core

The former Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), the Library Information Technology Association (LITA), and the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) are now Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures, a new division of ALA. Its mission is to cultivate and amplify the collective expertise of library workers in core functions through community building, advocacy, and learning.


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