Showing posts with label AlaAnnualMeeting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AlaAnnualMeeting. Show all posts

Monday, July 15, 2019

Spy Reveals Librarians Train to Circumvent Communities and Laws to Target Children

A spy reveals librarians train to circumvent communities and local laws to target children.  Even main stream media are beginning to notice.  For example, read Joy Pullmann in the Federalist who befriended a spy to expose the damaging information:
Can you believe a spy is needed to reveal how librarians target our children?  Can you believe librarians are targeting our children, even in schools?  Can you believe American Library Association is facilitating this targeting?  Thank goodness for the spy.

The spy revealed gender insanity and other things.  Gender ideology harms children.  For example:
  • "Gender Dysphoria in Children and Suppression of Debate," by Michelle A. Cretella, M.D. (president of the American College of Pediatricians), Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Vol 21 Num 2, Summer 2016, Pages 50-54: "A review of the current literature suggests that this protocol is rooted in an unscientific gender ideology, lacks an evidence base, and violates the long-standing ethical principle of 'First do no harm.'"
Library law requires libraries to act for the use and benefit of the public.  Gender insanity is neither useful nor beneficial for children, quite the opposite, as the above article by the President of the American College of Pediatricians reveals, "First do no harm."  Thus it violates the law.  Notice you never hear about that from ALA while ALA misleads and acts in the dark to thwart the law, and spies are needed to reveal this.  In short, already existing law can to used to stop the gender insanity in public libraries, if only communities become aware of the law and apply it.  For example, Drag Queen Story Hour is likely illegal and must be stopped.  If libraries will not change, municipalities can force them into compliance with the law, and the public need not approve library levies.

Who will be the first to sue the ALA for misleading communities into violating the law, for harming children and communities?

Here is the story in full with the information from the spy, thanks to Joy Pullmann, followed by another revealing story that cites Joy Pullmann:


21,460 Attend Library Conference Featuring Workshops On Drag Queens And Queering Elementary Schools

At the American Library Association's annual conference, the nation's librarians learned how to circumvent community objections to events like Drag Queen Story Hour and other outrageous, taxpayer-purchased materials.

The Federalist
July 10, 2019

The world’s largest library association’s annual conference this year featured more than 100 workshops with an “equity, diversity, and inclusion” theme, according to the American Library Association’s conference catalog. That included workshops with these titles (some shortened): “Creating Queer-Inclusive Elementary School Library Programming,” “Developing an Online Face for a Lesbian Pulp Fiction Collection,” and “Telling Stories, Expanding Boundaries: Drag Queen Storytimes in Libraries.”

The ALA annual conference’s workshop selections also included “A Child’s Room to Choose: Encouraging Gender Identity and Expression in School and Public Libraries,” and “Are You Going to Tell My Parents?: The Minor’s Right to Privacy in the Library.” Politically charged talks and workshops like these formed at least one-third of the conference offerings, according to the ALA’s own description and a review of the conference catalog.

The titles and descriptions of the conference’s approximately 300 workshops and talks are not available online. They were only published in a conference app and paper catalog reserved to in-person attendees, many of whose attendance was underwritten by taxpayers through local library budgets. According to the ALA, 21,460 people attended 2019’s annual conference this June, approximately 4,000 more than last year.

The attendee who gave me her conference catalog and mobile app access has told me of internal conflict between her public library employment and Christian faith due to the saturation of this kind of bias in the interconnected library and book publishing worlds. More examples of this extreme bias permeated social media under the conference hashtag, including for some reason having librarians weigh in on U.S. border security and make plans for removing the category “illegal aliens” from their collection catalogs. The conference of course featured bisexual bathroom facilities.





An Obsession on Dividing People Based on Skin Color

A large portion of the “equity, diversion, and inclusion” workshops focused on race. One subdivision of these was for participants in ALA’s Spectrum Leadership Institute, which grants a $5,000 scholarship and $1,500 stipend to attend the ALA conference. White people need not apply. See the application criteria:


A Saturday morning workshop entitled “Talking with Kids about Race: A ‘how to’ workshop” discussed, according to its conference description, “individual and systemic racism, intersectionality, and white fragility, as well as participant-guided topics to give attendees concrete tools and the confidence to address these issues with young people in the communities they serve.”

The slideshow that accompanied the workshop and was available on the conference app told participants that the United States is “a country built on white supremacy. White supremacy is the operating system in the US.” It also states, “If you are white, the strategies we are sharing today push against white fragility and racism. Pay attention to your reactions and be aware of your body right now. You might be uncomfortable. That’s OK.”



The handout for a Friday workshop on “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) tells participants “Leaders on DEI efforts can always expect pushback on those efforts… pushback happens because effective DEI efforts challenge the status quo, and it can feel threatening to many when we start to change ‘the way things always have been.’ Leaders on diversity, equity, and inclusion must expect and manage this pushback” (emphasis original).

Notice how this encourages librarians to resist feedback from patrons and taxpayers, placing public employees over American citizens and undermining classic American consensuses about public service and government’s proper subjection to the will of the people.


Celebrating Queer Sex with Public Resources, Even for Kids

The workshop titled “Telling Stories, Expanding Boundaries: Drag Queen Storytimes in Libraries” featured Michelle Tea, a lesbian who started drag queen events at a public library in San Francisco. It also featured a “drag queen storyteller” reading to the audience, according to the workshop description.

The description in the conference app says: “The DGS [sic, for Drag Queen Storytime] program has been immensely popular with many audiences at libraries across the country, but it has also produced its share of resistance and controversy. The panel will discuss how DGS was developed and originally implemented, how librarians have been using it today, how institutions have dealt with specific successes and controversies, and how DGS relates to intellectual freedom.”

The workshop speakers included ALA’s Kristin Pekoll, the assistant director of the organization’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. Pekoll was active in several workshops dedicated to challenging local communities and patrons’ opinions about appropriate taxpayer-provided materials and events. Another included librarians discussing how they handled patron complaints about a Black Lives Matter display in the children’s department, a Banned Books Week display, and a librarian-provided LGBTQ reading list for teens. These patron objections were treated as attempts at “censorship.”

A visual from Pekoll’s office says one of the five main kinds of “censorship” is “requiring parental permission to access content.” On another panel she participated in, another public librarian who initiated a drag queen story time gave audience members advice about how to overcome community objections to such events, according to a writeup of the event in Library Journal.
Larson shared her library’s effort to create and promote Drag Queen Story Time. Within an hour of the event being featured in the library’s newsletter, complaints arrived via phone and emal [sic]. After the event was picked up by conversative [sic] news outlets, calls started coming in from across the United States. As a result, the library coordinated with  local police for added security during the process.
When planning programs, Larson advised librarians to make sure that reference and circulation staff are supported; have a prepared statement about how a program supports the library’s values. Be clear in your goals and prepare stakeholders, such as a Board of Trustees. After the success of their first event, they hosted more without incident.
The ALA also provides librarians “crisis communication plans” to shield themselves from altering events or materials they provide with public resources that generate a public backlash, such as the drag queen story hours. A third librarian who hosted drag queen story hours, this time in a Philadelphia-area public library, told the audience the ALA helped him resist community objections to the events.

The June 24 workshop on “Creating Queer-Inclusive Elementary School Library Programming” discussed “ways to dismantle barriers” to such programs, including “crafting arguments,” “reviewing legislation,” and “listing talking points.” The description makes it clear that the workshop is not about only selecting books on this topic but also creating “services and programs.” Please note: The title says elementary school. That’s children younger than 13.

One of the presenters for this workshop, Lucy Santos Green, is the incoming chairwoman for the Educators of School Librarians section of the American Association of School Librarians. Let that one sink in. Then juxtapose it with the description of the workshop about underage children’s “privacy rights” from their parents, which “explore[d] positive and proactive ways that libraries can protect minors’ privacy and confidentiality” and insisted children “have a right to privacy and confidentiality in what they read and view in the library.”

At still another ALA conference workshop, participants brainstormed a list of book recommendations featuring “non-trad families,” which included the titles “My Brother’s Husband” and “Pregnant Butch.”


The outgoing ALA president tweeted pictures of herself sporting LGBT pride wear at the conference:


All these people, and this large organization that serves almost exclusively public institutions, clearly feel completely comfortable broadcasting their cheerful feelings about queer sex — and other extremely politicized and controversial subjects — in public. Have any of them ever stopped to think about how their decision to do so may contribute to some of the polarization, alienation, and anger Americans are experiencing towards each other currently?

Are all these supposedly well-read people completely ignorant of the fact that the majority of the world’s religions and religious adherents, which comprise the clear majority of the world today, plus the vast majority of cultures in world history, consider the kind of behavior they’re cheering depraved, damaging to children, self-harming, and socially destructive?

At least half of America does not agree with bisexual bathrooms or denying opportunities to white people based on their skin color. They are not on board with “queering” public elementary school libraries. How can we trust these librarians’ judgment and management of public resources after seeing this kind of bias, which is extreme to the point of open hostility against our deepest values?

ALA’s leaders and workshop approval committees don’t have to agree, of course. But could they at least, as the woke say, engage in a bit of perspective-taking? Or would they prefer to continue abusing the public trust placed in them and the public institutions they influence? What do they think will be the outcomes of that decision?


Joy Pullmann (@JoyPullmann) is executive editor of The Federalist, mother of five children, and author of "The Education Invasion: How Common Core Fights Parents for Control of American Kids." She identifies as native American and gender natural. Her latest ebook is a list of more than 200 recommended classic books for children ages 3-7 and their parents.

Copyright © 2019 The Federalist, a wholly independent division of FDRLST Media, All Rights Reserved.


NOTE:  Within the above article reporting on self-arrogated free speech advocates planning to bypass community concerns to target children in violation of law and community standards, the following ALA censors block me, a whistleblower, on Twitter—including the ALA President and antisemite Loida Garcia Febo:
  1. Megan Hodge, @mlhodge, "ALA Councilor, NMRT past president, 2011 Emerging Leader. she/her/hers"
  2. Violet Fox  🦊, @violetbfox, "Classification schemer. Moving and shaking with the help of my friends. #critcat #AskACataloger (she/her)" "I am a reformer by nature but I don't think ALA is reformable at this point; the inertia & conservatism is too heavy. I'll still be working w/in ALA b/c that's where cataloging concerns live, but excited to support new organizations that strive to make librarianship more radical."
  3. Andromeda Yelton, @ThatAndromeda, "Superpositive wrecking ball of goodness. Like putting your finger in an electrical outlet in a good way. @ALA_LITA Past-President. Software dev @BKCHarvard."
  4. Loida Garcia Febo, @loidagarciafebo, "ALA President 2018-2019. Libraries pillars of public education. Communities. Reading, Wellness enthusiast. English/Spanish/Latina/Librarian • LoveAccents"

See also:

"When Did Librarians Get Woke?" 

by tigerlily
Ricochet
13 July 2019


Local Librarian //
Image credit shutterstock.com
What image comes to mind when you think of or hear the word librarian? For me that image is of a conservative person (and truth be told always a woman). By conservative, I refer not to politics or ideology (I imagine librarians have always come in a variety of ideological flavors) but instead of one with a conservative sensibility or temperament which includes a certain respect for tradition and decorum. And, that makes sense (at least to me) for those who are charged with preserving and providing access to a significant portion of our cultural heritage. In recent years, however, that image is fading fast for me.

Pride Month is celebrated at the Boston Public
Library in June 2018 – Image credit
Keith J Finks / Shutterstock.com
A couple of weeks ago, the American Library Association (ALA) held its annual conference and it was a cornucopia of leftism and the stupidest aspects of today’s identity politics according to this July 10, 2019 article by Joy Pullmann at The Federalist. The leftist bent of the conference also clearly shows at the ALA’s review of said conference. The ALA seems to be entirely on board and supportive of every aspect of the LGBT agenda including, regrettably, what I call their war on childhood. The conference involved many workshops including “Creating Queer-Inclusive Elementary School Library Programming,” “Telling Stories, Expanding Boundaries: Drag Queen Storytimes in Libraries,” and “A Children’s Room to Choose: Encouraging Gender Identity and Expression in School and Public Libraries.” And, of course, these sort of endeavors are to be encouraged and undertaken by librarians and school teachers regardless of what parents may think as per the workshop “Are You Going to Tell My Parents?: The Minor’s Right to Privacy in the Library.” The conference also had the usual paeans to racialist thinking and behavior such as the workshop “Talking to Kids About Race: A ‘how-to’ workshop” which included the current racial grievance industry charges such as white supremacy is the operating system in the USA, and white fragility is a tool of white supremacy. Oh, and I am happy to report that the conference was able to approve a motion that denounced detention centers for illegal immigrants. How daring of them!



I suppose I should’ve been surprised by Ms. Pullmann’s article, but I really wasn’t. It seems the ALA has been moving to the left for several decades now. I first became aware of this shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In the immediate aftermath of those attacks the Congress passed and President Bush signed into law what was called the Patriot Act, the purpose of which was to strengthen national security. Specifically, the ALA opposed Section 215 of that law, which provided for the collection of “business records,” as per this fact sheet prepared by a group in support of the law. To be fair, there were legitimate concerns regarding this provision of the law and the Congress eventually allowed Section 215 to expire in 2015. That said, the ALA’s reaction to the law was hysterical and went beyond criticism to willful disobedience of the law via purposeful destruction of records they thought pertinent to the law.

The main reading room of the
New York Public Library –
Image credit Keith J Finks / shutterstock.com
Around the same time, librarians were in the news for another issue. At some point twenty or so years ago, libraries began to connect to the internet and provide computer terminals for their patrons. This is all well and good; however, hardcore pornography was and is readily available and accessible on the internet and, although filtering systems exist to deny access to the porn, the ALA and librarians across the country have refused and continue to refuse to provide these filters on first amendment and other spurious grounds, despite the fact that the computers are regularly used for the viewing of hardcore porn. The silliest aspect of this issue is that until the introduction of the internet into the libraries no one ever went to a library to view pornography.

More recently the ALA has eagerly joined in on the current practice of expunging from polite society dead white people for some real or imagined transgression against one the pillars (sex and race) of today’s identity politics. In 1954, the ALA established the Laura Ingalls Wilder award – a lifetime achievement award for authors and illustrators of children’s literature – and named her as the first recipient for her “Little House” books. In 2018, the ALA renamed the award the Children’s Literature Legacy Award because her work does not comport with the ALA’s “…core values of inclusiveness, integrity, and respect” since her books “…reflect dated attitudes towards indigenous people and people of color.” In their announcement stripping Wilder of her honor, the ALA also made sure to congratulate themselves for not removing these horrible works from their library shelves. How generous of them.

With their appetite whetted by the Wilder award renaming, the ALA decided to take down a much bigger fish in the library world in 2019 – that of Melvil Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal system of library classification. And so at this year’s annual conference it was decided to strip Dewey’s name from the American Library Association’s top award – the Melvil Dewey Award- which is awarded annually to an individual who has demonstrated “creative leadership of a high order” in such fields as classification and cataloging, library management, and library training. It seems that Mr. Dewey had a bit of a #metoo problem. According to one biographer, Dewey “…was a serial hugger and kisser,” while another biographer stated that Dewey engaged in “unwelcome hugging, unwelcome touching, and unwelcome kissing” with women subordinates over a period of decades. Sounds a bit like Joe Biden, doesn’t it? He also has another problem in that he discriminated against Jews, Blacks, and others in a club he owned.

Whenever I hear or read of these situations of an organization taking a decidedly progressive turn, I am reminded of Robert Conquest’s Three Laws of Politics, the second of which is “Any organization not explicitly right-wing sooner or later becomes left-wing.” It is remarkable how often this process comes to pass. It is almost as true and immutable as Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. I should note, at least in passing that authorship for this law seems to be in dispute. It is also regularly assigned to John O’Sullivan, a former editor of National Review. If anyone can clarify this conflict, please feel free to speak up.

I mentioned earlier my image of a typical librarian. The clip below from the 1940 movie The Philadelphia Story presents a somewhat exaggerated version my typical librarian.




Copyright 2019 Silent Cal Productions, LLC.


NOTE ADDED 16 JULY 2019:

Excellent comment below I'm republishing here so it gets seen:

David Anderson

Mon Jul 15, 09:11:00 PM 2019

As readers here may know, in March of 2018, the Public Library Association (PLA) hosted its biennial national conference in the City of Brotherly Love – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – and among the programs offered was one entitled “Drag Queen Story Hour: Reading Fabulously”.

Shared with attendees for titles to read in setting up their own DQSH were those that “best support a program for young children exploring gender fluidity.”

First listed on the program handout touting the spread of “The Ever Growing Queendom” was Rachel Aimee, New York City DQSH chapter founder.

Speaking of spreading, those in the audience during the DQSH presentation of that March meeting of library enthusiasts – official representatives and staff - from across the country may or may not have known that Aimee co-founded in 2005, developed and was editor-in-chief of “$pread”, a sex-workers magazine.

“$pread” was “criticized by some branches of feminism that believe that sex work is inherently degrading.”

Aimee believes otherwise.

Aimee’s “$pread” website declares of her magazine staff, “Most of us are real sex workers. Among us are street workers, pro-dommes, escorts, strippers, nude models, porn workers and pretty much anything else you can think of.”

“The assumption that sex workers are too dumb to publish a magazine really pisses us off,” Aimee wrote.

When asked what was next for “$pread”, Aimee responded “We’re looking for sex workers to paint, mutilate, or otherwise decorate sex toys” for her then-upcoming show’s special exhibit entitled “One Sex Worker Nation Under Dildo.”

If your search engine is set to filter out adult content, then you may not know what ‘dildo’ means, nor the world Aimee envisioned.

Did the members of your library association where you live attend the Rachel Aimee, NYC Director of DQSH, sponsored event at the March 2018 Public Library Association conference in Philadelphia?

And, just as important, even as political districts vet their candidates, does your library district screen for character those who would stand before your children, your grandchildren, the children of your community?

Source quotes may be found in an article I wrote from which the excerpt above is taken: https://thesubtimes.com/2019/02/26/letter-drag-queen-story-house-not-what-you-may-think/


NOTE ADDED 16 July 2019:

The Hormone Health Crisis | with Endocrinologist William Malone, MD:


—
URL of this page: 
safelibraries.blogspot.com/2019/07/spy-reveals-librarians-training.html

On Twitter: 
@ALALibrary @FDRLST @JoyPullmann @Ricochet



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Location: Chicago, IL, USA

Friday, June 21, 2019

ALA Pushes Drag Queen Story Hour at ALA Annual Conference

American Library Association pushes Drag Queen Story Hour at its biggest conference, ALA Annual, by training librarians to push it into communities nationwide.  Notice, no mention of literacy—just intersectionality, no mention of unvetted drag queens turning out to be pedophiles like at Houston Public Library, no mention of how DQSH harms the LGBT community, but there's the Office for Intellectual Freedom "expanding boundaries" at this training session with the Assistant Director (a nice person individually) as a speaker.

I am writing about the pervasiveness of ALA's DQSH promotion, or DQS as they call it, so stay tuned here.

Telling Stories, Expanding Boundaries:

Drag Queen Storytimes in Libraries

Saturday, June 22 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Location: Washington Convention Center, 147B

"This session will explore the public library as a site for the intersection of gender expression/identity and intellectual freedom, by discussing the phenomenon of Drag Queen Storytime (DGS). The session will consist of a panel featuring originators of the DGS concept; librarians whose institutions have been involved in DGS, with both the popularity and the controversy that have ensued; and a local drag queen storyteller who will read a story to the audience. The DGS program has been immensely popular with many audiences at libraries across the country, but it has also produced its share of resistance and controversy. The panel will discuss how DGS was developed and originally implemented, how librarians have been using it today, how institutions have dealt with specific successes and controversies, and how DGS relates to intellectual freedom."

Source (archived), linked from here: "Que(e)ry's Coming to ALA Annual in Washington D.C.!"




NOTE ADDED AN HOUR LATER:


—
URL of this page: 
safelibraries.blogspot.com/2019/06/ala-pushes-dqsh.html

On Twitter: 
@ALALibrary @KPekoll @OIF

Posted by at 4 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,
Location: Washington, DC, USA

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

FLA Flips ALA the Bird on Florida's Stand Your Ground Law

Northern Mockingbird
Mimus Polyglottus
Florida State Bird
The Florida Library Association [FLA] has flipped the American Library Association [ALA] the bird, and in Florida, that means the mockingbird.  FLA mocks ALA for taking political positions that have nothing to do with librarianship.  And ALA is already mounting a response to attempt to force FLA to act as ALA wishes, similar to what ALA does in local communities, only this time it applies to a state library association.

ALA's ruling "ALA Council" (one that, for example, bullies its conservative Christian members) has recently decided to take on yet another non-library issue, like fried librarian giblets, but in this case, it's Florida's Stand Your Ground law.  This started after ALA's "Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Inc." [BCALA] published the following:
  • "Black Caucus of ALA Denounces ALA's Decision to Hold 2016 Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla," by BCALA, American Library Association, 17 March 2014:
    The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), condemns the American Library Association's (ALA) decision to continue with plans to hold the ALA 2016 annual conference in Orlando, Fla. in the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict and that state's refusal to revise or repeal "Stand Your Ground" laws, which were included in jury instructions in Zimmerman's trial for second degree murder for fatally shooting unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla. in 2012.
ALA is scheduled to have an annual convention in Orlando, FL, in 2016.  As a result, ALA Council is now discussing whether to move the convention out of Florida or to use the event to oppose Florida's gun laws and guns generally.

ALA is frequently mocked for allowing a few people to drive the entire organization to support progressive causes having nothing to do with librarianship.  The latest example is the Annoyed Librarian writing for the Library Journal in "An Idea For a Resolution":
I have a suggestion for the Socially Responsible Round Table.  The next time you want to push a meaningless resolution about something unrelated to the libraries, why not instead push a meaningless resolution in support of the third of Americans that have no library access at all.  That actually has something to do with libraries and it's a worthy cause.  It's just not very sexy.
Well ALA decided to pressure FLA to provide input on whether to move the conference out of Florida or to suggest how FLA proposes going about using the conference to pressure Floridians and conference visitors on their own gun laws.

FLA was having none of that.  It responded ever so politely by telling ALA that FLA addresses issues facing Florida libraries and librarians.  See the FLA letter to the ALA or read it below.  And FLA's Alan Kornblau wrote, "As a member of the FLA Executive Board and Florida Chapter Councilor, I support FLA's position and encourage lovers of libraries to attend our state conference at the beautiful Buena Vista Palace in Lake Buena Vista, Florida from May 7 – 9, 2014, as well as the 2016 ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida."

Given ALA was subtly pressuring FLA to take a position on a non-librarian and progressive political issue of gun control and tossing aside the Second Amendment, FLA's response that clearly defines its mission as one of libraries and librarians is basically mocking ALA for taking on those progressive, non-library political issues.

And since the Florida state bird is the Northern Mockingbird, it appears FLA is flipping ALA the bird and mocking its northern ALA.

Well, ALA is not used to people telling ALA off.  So ALA Councilor Gladys Smiley Bell responded to Alan Kornblau—you see, library workers and users "fear" living in Florida so that makes opposing gun laws and the "struggle for equality and fairness" into "library advocacy" and "an opportunity to promote change":
This is about library advocacy which I support.  This is an opportunity to promote change in states that includes library workers, libraries, library users in light of BCALA and others fight for safety, a safe environment, and other discriminating acts regarding the struggle for equality and fairness.  I don't like living with fear for myself or my teenage grandsons.
And ALA Councilor Al Kagan steamed, "Alan, Thanks for forwarding the Florida Library Association letter.  Unfortunately, it does not address the issue at hand."

So you know ALA received the message loud and clear that FLA was not going to be ALA's political hatchet man and was not going to take on non-library issues.

The night is young and the typical Chicago Way pressure from Chicago's ALA is only just beginning to build.  The conference is in 2016.  We'll have to wait to see if it the conference is moved or not.  I doubt it, but it won't be for a lack of trying.

Read FLA's letter to ALA for yourself to see FLA is sticking to library issues only:



March 18, 2014

Dear Colleagues and Friends at ALA,

On behalf of the Florida Library Association, our Executive Board thanks you for your recent inquiry about our Association's focus.

Our mission statement notes that our association:  "develops programs and undertakes activities to earn it a leadership position for all areas of librarianship.  To do this, the Association works with other professional organizations and professions that are relevant to librarianship; provides increasing opportunities for librarians and support staff in Florida to advance their skills so that they can maintain their effectiveness in the new information age; works closely with the information industry, facilitating productive links with the library community; and continues its role as legislative advocate for excellence in all types of library service within the State of Florida and beyond."

Since we are an organization with finite funds and limited staff we focus all our resources on issues directly supporting libraries and librarians in the state of Florida.   Keeping libraries open and librarians employed so that our libraries can provide the best library services possible to their users is our primary focus.  Our legislative platform focuses on funding libraries of all types.

The Florida Library Association supports the position that libraries are forums for information and ideas and that their resources should be available to all.  We encourage people to exercise their rights as individuals and support free speech.  We have a very active Intellectual Freedom Committee that was so effective it spawned a new member group last year, "Readers Rights and Privacy."  We have adopted supporting positions on "Public Library Funding," "Freedom to Read," ALA's "Library Bill of Rights," "Code of Ethics," and "Ethics Statements for Public Trustees," and have statements on "Privatization" and "Professional Education."

The Florida Library Association is looking forward to the 2016 ALA Conference in Orlando and the opportunity for Florida librarians, friends, and staff to attend.

We also encourage you to attend our FLA Conference this spring, May 7-9 at the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando.

Sincerely,
/s/
Gladys Roberts, President

The FLA letter may be downloaded here:  http://tinyurl.com/FLAflipsALAtheBird

By the way, since FLA appropriately sticks to library issues, I hope it addresses these:


NOTE ADDED 25 MARCH 2014:

As presaged, and this didn't take long, ALA has struck back at FLA.  Only days ago I wrote, "The night is young and the typical Chicago Way pressure from Chicago's ALA is only just beginning to build."  Sure enough, ALA President Barbara Stripling (a very nice lady from what I can see, by the way) is striking back and hard.  In big, Chicago Way style.  She is organizing the full power of ALA to community organize all librarians to punish FLA for insolence and promote progressive causes in libraries nationwide, starting with opposing guns laws.  What does this have to do with librarianship?  Nothing, but the ends justifies the means, no?

She is charging directly at any state library association that would dare do what FLA did, using FLA as the whipping boy.  "ALA's Executive Committee and BCALA's Executive Board decided that the best way to respond to the Florida situation is by turning it into an opportunity to educate, build awareness, and advocate for equitable treatment, inclusion, and respect for diversity.  We have agreed on the following actions: ... Support for conversations and actions at the state level facilitated by state library associations or other organizations within the states."

So, FLA, the full weight of ALA will "support conversation and actions at the state level facilitated by state library associations...."  That means you, FLA.  You will support "conversation" and "action" on the very progressive political cause you politely avoided.  If you do not acquiesce, there will be more and more "conversation" and "action" until you come to heel.

"Most troubling is the growing prevalence of Stand Your Ground laws," writes Barbara Stripling et alia.  So even though you, FLA, said you will not engage in that political activity because you wanted to spend limited resources instead on libraries and librarians, you will soon learn the most cost effective move will be to give in to the ALA instead of constantly fending off the "conversation" and "action" that ALA is gathering to bring to bear in Orlando as a direct result of your giving ALA the bird.  ALA's flipping you back a bigger bird.  No other state library association will dare defy ALA further.

This is how ALA pushes porn in libraries nationwide, like this: http://tinyurl.com/DirtyDozenALA

This is how ALA pushes state library associations to come to heel.  Even to the point of teaching them the opposite of the law so they will promote porn in libraries.

And, it's already working!
As the Councilor from Louisiana and one of the councilors who originally suggested state-level action, I will be bringing this statement with me tomorrow to the Executive Board Meeting at the Annual Conference of the Louisiana Library Association, where I will recommend that we have our own chapter-based Task Force devoted to issues of diversity within our profession—well in advance of any upcoming ALA conferences in New Orleans. 
I would also like to put my name forward as being interested in working with the your Special Presidential Task Force, Barbara—in whatever way you deem appropriate. 
Stephanie 
Stephanie Ganic Braunstein, MA MLIS
Head Government Documents/Microforms Librarian
& Liaison to Political Science
Louisiana State University
Middleton Library
Regional Depository #222

Louisiana State University.  A public university.  What a coincidence.

Does anyone know if this political activity violates ALA's 501(c)(3) tax exempt status?  Are taxpayers supporting an organization that calls itself the American Library Association but that instead works to promote progressive political causes, much like Media Matters for America and the like?  Is there something wrong with libraries and librarians that ALA needs to come out openly as promoting progressive causes, like opposing Stand Your Ground laws, having nothing to do with librarianship?

ALA membership is shrinking.  I have to wonder if this non-library, non-librarian political activism is part of the reason why.  "The goal is to use the Orlando conference platform to provoke a national dialogue."  Oh really?  State library associations like FLA far better serve the needs of librarians, I have heard.  And seeing FLA's willingness to keep its focus on library and librarian issues, I can see why.

Here is the ALA statement of 25 March 2014 that represents ALA reacting strongly to a state library association, in this case FLA, daring to express an interest in sticking to issues affecting libraries and librarians:

CHICAGO —The values of diversity, equity, and inclusion form the foundation of the library profession and our professional associations.  Those values have been challenged by the discriminatory enforcement of the "Stand Your Ground" law in Florida and the fact that ALA's 2016 Annual Conference is scheduled for Orlando.  The Executive Committee members of ALA and the BCALA Executive Board have actively engaged in conversation to determine the best solution to this challenging dilemma.  That conversation has been extended to the Executive Boards of AILA, APALA, CALA, and REFORMA with a decision to issue a joint statement of commitment and action. 
In response to BCALA's concern regarding holding the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, the ALA Executive Board thoroughly explored the options for moving the conference.  ALA started by clarifying the facts underlying conference site selection, the implications of trying to move the Orlando conference, and the prevalence of Stand Your Ground laws across the United States.  The contracts for Orlando were negotiated originally in 2000; the Stand Your Ground law in Florida became effective on October 1, 2005.  Cancelling the hotel and convention center contracts would result in a minimum fine of $814,000.  Conferences as large as ALA must be scheduled for specific sites and contracts signed at least 7–10 years in advance.  At this late date, it would be highly unlikely that ALA would be able to find another site with availability during our window of late June/early July 2016. 
Most troubling is the growing prevalence of Stand Your Ground laws. Twenty-two states have laws that allow for that self-defense provision to be asserted (as of August 2013).  An additional 21 states have enacted laws that allow for self-defense within one's home (called Castle Doctrines).  However, each state has implemented and applied the Stand Your Ground laws differently, and it is the interpretation and application of the Stand Your Ground Law in the Zimmerman and Dunn cases, as well as the Marissa Alexander case, that has heightened the urgency for discussion and action. 
With that information in hand, our ALA's Executive Committee and BCALA's Executive Board decided that the best way to respond to the Florida situation is by turning it into an opportunity to educate, build awareness, and advocate for equitable treatment, inclusion, and respect for diversity. We have agreed on the following actions:
  • Town Hall discussions of racial diversity and inclusion in our profession, association, and communities.
    • Major topic of Membership Meeting at 2014 ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas.
    • Topic of discussion during Virtual Membership Meeting on June 5, 2014.
  • Support for conversations and actions at the state level facilitated by state library associations or other organizations within the states.
  • Formation of a Special Presidential Task Force involving members of the ethnic affiliates and ALA to (1) develop programs and other opportunities for members to learn about and engage in the issue, (2) build strong advocacy and awareness while at the Orlando conference, and (3) develop communications directed toward the public.  The Task Force will be formed immediately.  The goal is to use the Orlando conference platform to provoke a national dialogue. 
  • Collaboration with local Black and Hispanic/Latino community members and organizations in Orlando to determine the best ways for ALA members to be supportive of them.  This will include compilation of a list of African-American and Hispanic/Latino businesses in Orlando for ALA members to patronize.
  • Outreach to national organizations with vested interest in the Stand Your Ground laws to build alliances and collaborative efforts in advocacy and public awareness (e.g., NAACP, La Raza, Urban League).
Most important to all the ethnic caucuses and ALA is the public and honest conversation that will be generated by our actions.  We are committed to building more diversity and inclusion among our members, the field of librarianship, and our communities.  We invite all members of AILA, APALA, BCALA, CALA, REFORMA, and ALA to engage with us in moving toward a more just society. 
With respect,
Barbara Stripling
President
ALA
(American Library Association) 
Jerome Offord, Jr.
President
BCALA, Inc.
(Black Caucus of the American Library Association) 
Heather Devine
President
AILA
(American Indian Library Association) 
Eugenia Beh
President
APALA
(Asian Pacific American Librarians Association) 
Lisa Zhao
President
CALA
(Chinese American Librarians Association) 
Isabel Espinal
President
REFORMA
(The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking)
See that call for "diversity"?  "We are committed to building more diversity"?  What, ALA does not already have diversity?  For example, it doesn't already promote Islam in hundreds or thousands of libraries nationwide?  Of course it does.

By "diversity" ALA means uniformity.  They do not mean diversity.  If they did, they would not work with the racist or supremacist organization "La Raza" (The Race, like there's only one).  If they did, ALA would stop making it a regular practice to support basically all libraries blocking collections from containing materials on exgays, or ALA would stop libraries from discriminating against Christians and written materials having a Christian slant.  If they were really interested in diversity or "inclusion" ALA would not exclude librarians who speak out about sexual harassment that results from unfiltered computers.  Etc.

No it's not diversity ALA wants, it's uniformity.  It's progressive political activity, using the name "American Library Association" as cover.


NOTE ADDED 27 MARCH 2014:

NBA basketball star Kobe Bryant catches hell for saying its wrong to make knee jerk reactions to jump to one politically correct view on Trayvon Martin:
I won't react to something just because I'm supposed to, because I'm an African-American," he said.  "That argument doesn't make any sense to me.  So we want to advance as a society and a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American we immediately come to his defense?  Yet you want to talk about how far we've progressed as a society?  Well, we've progressed as a society, then don't jump to somebody's defense just because they're African-American.  You sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right? So I won't assert myself."
The American Library Association, now tossing aside pretense of being a library association, is doing just that and making it the centerpiece of ALA' efforts.  Not porn in libraries harming children, not sexually harassed librarians, not the massive fraud in the CIPA E-rate program, but Trayvon Martin, stand your ground laws, "diversity," and other progressive causes having nothing to do with librarianship.

I'll list a few stories here, and I hope the few remaining librarians interested in librarianship and willing to speak up can wrest control from the many progressives driving the ALA:


NOTE ADDED 14 OCTOBER 2014:

Today ALA made public an announcement of how it is continuing to community organize its political activity having nothing to do with librarianship.  In the case below, it's mainly opposition to Stand Your Ground laws.

The issues of sexual harassment are roiling the librarian community now, thanks to #TeamHarpy, yet political goals trump that as the more serious, coordinated effort is put into non-library issues like Stand Your Ground instead of sexual harassment of librarians:

[alacoun] update from the ALA Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Garnar, Martin Tue, Oct 14, 2014 at 2:51 PM
To: "ALA Council (alacoun@ala.org)"
Dear colleagues, 

ALA’s Task Force for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, co-chaired by Martin Garnar and Trevor A. Dawes, has begun its work to ensure committed and sustained attention to equity, inclusion, and diversity issues within ALA, in the profession, and in our communities.  The Task Force was formed earlier in 2014 when members of the Black Caucus (BCALA) raised serious concerns about the scheduling of ALA’s 2016 Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, a state where the implementation of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law has been critically flawed. 

After some discussion with several concerned members, the ALA and the affiliated Ethnic Caucuses issued a joint statement, available at http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blog/joint-statement-presidents-ethnic-caucuses-ala-aila-apala-bcala-cala-reforma-and-american.   In the joint statement, we shared our concern about the reasons there was a call to change the conference location; affirmed our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion; and recognized that moving the conference at that point was not possible.

Task Force members have heard that there is still some concern being expressed about the fact that the American Library Association will hold its 2016 annual conference in Orlando, FL.  We believe that moving forward with the conference in Orlando presents us with opportunities to engage with the communities in Florida in ways clearly not possible if we are not there.   The Task Force will be developing plans for the association not only to address actions at the 2016 conference, but also to plan more generally for how we can be a more inclusive association and profession.

The Task Force members will be reaching out to ALA members and non-members in the coming months to gather information and feedback and we all hope you will share your thoughts.  The first piece where we would appreciate your feedback is to the definitions of equity, diversity, and inclusion that will frame our work.  The definitions are below and have been posted to ALA Connect for public comment (http://connect.ala.org/node/229669).   You are, of course, welcome to contact the task force members (http://www.ala.org/groups/node/4471) at any time if you have questions or concerns.

Preface to the definitions:

In framing the definitions of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for our work as a task force, wanting to change the world by and beyond the Annual 2016 Conference, and realizing we *may* fall short of that  goal, we offer the following definitions  for consideration. We have decided to maintain a fairly global perspective in these definitions, i.e. not to attempt an exhaustive list of descriptors or qualities of disenfranchised groups comprising ALA membership and by extension our various stakeholders and patron populations. We are striving for social justice for *All* - and with these definitions desire to achieve a larger rather than smaller common and inclusive denominator.

Equity

Equity is not the same as formal equality. Formal equality implies sameness. Equity, on the other hand, assumes difference and takes difference into account to ensure a fair process and, ultimately, a fair (or equitable) outcome. Equity recognizes that some groups were (and are) disadvantaged in accessing educational and employment opportunities and are, therefore, underrepresented or marginalized in many organizations and institutions. The effects of that exclusion often linger systemically within organizational policies, practices and procedures. Equity, therefore, means increasing diversity by ameliorating conditions of disadvantaged groups. . 
(Adapted from University of British Columbia: http://diversity.ubc.ca/valuing-difference/equity-and-diversity-%E2%80%93-definitions-and-philosophy/)

The Task Force believes that everyone deserves equitable rights and opportunities.  Our goal is to create a just and equitable Association, profession, and society where everyone has access to social power, resources, and physical and psychological safety.
(Adapted from ALA Office for Diversity “Strategic Planning for Diversity”: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/diversity/workplace/diversityplanning , and National Association of Social Workers:http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/cultural_competence.asp)

Diversity

Diversity can be defined as the sum of the ways that people are both alike and different.  Visible diversity is generally those things we cannot change and are external.  However, diversity goes beyond this to what we call ‘invisible’ diversity.  Invisible diversity includes those attributes that are not readily seen. So, when we recognize, value, and embrace diversity, we are recognizing, valuing, and embracing the uniqueness of each individual. 

The Task Force has chosen to define “diversity” in all its complexity in order to recognize and honor the uniqueness of each ALA member, all members of our profession, and our very diverse communities.  The Task Force also agrees with the National Education Association that, “While diversity itself is not a value-laden term, the way that people react to diversity is driven by values, attitudes, beliefs, and so on.  Full acceptance of diversity is a major principle of social justice.” 
(Adapted from National Education Association): http://www.nea.org/tools/diversity-toolkit-introduction.html

Inclusion

Inclusion means an environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully; are valued for their distinctive skills, experiences, and perspectives; have equal access to resources and opportunities; and can contribute fully to the organization’s success.  
(Adapted from Society for Human Resources Management http://www.shrm.org/diversity  and Hewlett Packard: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-information/about-hp/diversity/meaning.html)

The Task Force believes that, to be inclusive, our association, profession, and society must recognize the inherent worth and dignity of every member of the community; involve and empower all members to participate and contribute; promote and sustain a sense of belonging; and value and practice respect for the talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of living of all members.
(Adapted from Ferris State University: http://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/administration/president/DiversityOffice/Definitions.htm)

Again, we welcome your comments on the definitions and any questions you may have for the task force.

Sincerely,

Martin Garnar and Trevor A. Dawes

---
Martin Garnar
Reference Services Librarian and Professor of Library Science
Dayton Memorial Library, Regis University -- www.regis.edu/library
3333 Regis Blvd., Mail Stop D-20
Denver, CO 80221


On Twitter:  @ALALibrary @BCALA_Inc @FLGovScott @LibraryJournal @TweetFLAlibrary #libchat #2A #syg #StandYourGround

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Location: Tallahassee, FL, USA
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