Librarian Warns Parents and Librarians About S3xualization of Children; Texas SB13 Legislative Efforts by TXLA Criticized

The Librarian Dodge and Weave

by Anonymous

As a school librarian a quiet corner in the state of Texas, I felt fortunate to be away from the battle lines currently being drawn through libraries throughout the United States of America.  I'm blessed to have the full confidence of my institution's administration and board, freedom to curate the library collection as I see fit, and a supportive school community that does not feel that their children's library is a potential source of damaging content. 

I am a rarity in the field of librarianship.  I am a fiscal and social conservative, and as such, were I “out” and active in my field, I would be castigated and attacked from every corner.  I have read countless messages and overheard conversations at professional events castigating people of my political and personal beliefs as a modern-day devil who must be run out of town and destroyed.  Needless to say, I keep my head down, my mouth shut, and listen hard.

One of my more fascinating sources of professional word comes through the Texas Library Association. The rot is just as deep in TLA as it is in ALA (American Library Association) and having eyes on the internal list servs, professional programming, and more is very revealing. 

In the state of Texas, the state legislature meets every other year and this year is one of those years.  As all professional organizations do, TLA is tracking proposed legislation that would impact libraries and librarians within the state.  The conversation around these proposals is grimly illuminating.

Texas SB13 Legislative Efforts by TXLA Criticized

Look how the Texas Association of School Libraries newsletter (promoted and shared within the TLA list serv) frames one such bill:

What is this “affirmative defense”?  KXAN has an excellent definition in this (https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/texas-librarians-alarmed-over-book-review-bill/) article, Texas Librarians Alarmed Over Book Review Bill, by Ryan Chandler (Posted: Mar 29, 2023 / 05:37 PM CDT, Updated: Mar 29, 2023 / 07:29 PM CDT):

“A person has an affirmative defense to the crime of distributing harmful material to minors if they do so with an educational justification.  SB 13 would remove that justification.  Exposing children to harmful material is penalized as a Class A misdemeanor.”

This definition implies that TLA believes there is educational merit in books and graphic novels depicting underage s3x, drug use, and alcohol consumption. 

Mumbling About Censorship and Diversity While S3xualizing Kids

When All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson has pages long scenes of underage oral and anal s3x (one example starts on page 266 of the paperback edition), that's educational. 

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez is recommended for kids starting at age 14 by Kirkus Reviews and can be found in school libraries.  The graphic scenes of a father violently beating and raping his daughter before murdering her and her boyfriend are educational, apparently.

What does TLA have to say about these scenes, about these books?  Nothing specific.  They'll mumble about censorship, diversity, and needing LGBT+ content.  But they won't specifically cite or defend this horrifying content and explain why it is necessary for children to have access to it.

Let's look at what another TLA-promoted resource has to say, this time the What If... Forum hosted by the Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Importance of Considering Content in Context

Posted on February 21, 2023

Q: I’m struggling with how to explain why words or a scene or images in a book taken out of context should not be used to discount the book as a whole.  Can you offer some ideas for talking about why it’s so important to consider content in context, and not judge a book in a library based on material that’s been excerpted, often with the intent to get people upset?

https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/the-importance-of-considering-content-in-context/

[snip]

[snip]

There is no possible harm in providing materials to children depicting violent scenes of familial rape and murder, it seems.  It's educational and how else will all the school's students feel represented? 

Everyone knows LGBT+ children require graphic s3xual content to feel represented.

Librarians refuse to acknowledge the true issue at hand.  They won't take responsibility.  They wiggle and squirm and whine when confronted about the materials they share and promote.  They exclaim they can't let parents censor books for other kids.  They're changing lives.

Librarians on Facebook Mock Parents

Librarian groups on Facebook are no better.  Librarians bringing up book challenges and concerns brought to them by parents are answered with sneering derision being aimed at said parents.  “If people are too conservative to even READ A BOOK about other people who might have different lifestyles than them, that's a problem and it's one of the reasons we have such an important job to do as a librarian...  Keep it on the shelf; it could change a life.”

I even saw one horrifying post once from one high school librarian determined to ensure that the child s3x workers in her school feel represented.  There was very little push back from other librarians or even people pointing out that if this librarian knew about child s3x workers in her school, then she was failing her legal responsibility to serve as a mandatory reporter of child abuse.  (This matter did get brought to the attention of local authorities and the librarian was removed from her position, I believe.)

These aren't new issues to anyone who's been following these stories.  But it hit me hard today when I followed the link TLA provided to the What if... Forum and saw how the s3xual content families are rightfully concerned about being minimized and endorsed.

Texas Library Association is Part of the Problem

TLA is one of the largest library professional organizations in the world, and as such it has an out-sized-influence on the current state of the library profession.  Matters in this profession are not improving and are not going to improve without both real-world consequences and a shift in the demographics of the profession—not towards any one racial category but one of political diversity. 

Much of the work librarians do also honestly isn't something that requires graduate-level training, as the TLA forums recently had a frantic session assuring themselves about.  That matter, at least, got some push back from non-degreed librarians frustrated at the lack of respect towards them and their work.

Suggestions for Parents and Librarians

In closing, I can only make a few suggestions, both to parents and other librarians.

To the parents, I say this: Keep making your voices heard.  These libraries are yours, not the librarians.  It can be easy to fall into a censorship trap where materials that should be handled at the family level get targeted, but by and large that isn't what's happening.  Keep going.  Keep pushing.  Clean up these school libraries.

To the librarians, I pray that something causes your ears and eyes to open.  Harm is being done.  We have an incredible influence over children's developing minds and that influence is currently being used to hurt these children.  We can do better.  The children deserve it. 

Addendum

I used ChatGPT to run some numbers per the data it had available to it in 2021.  Here are some revealing numbers:

Q:  Can you rank the state-level library associations in the United States such as the Texas Library Association by available or estimated membership numbers?

A:  Sure, based on the available or estimated membership numbers, here are the top 10 state-level library associations in the United States, ranked by membership size:

• Texas Library Association (TLA) - over 6,000 members
• New York Library Association (NYLA) - over 4,500 members
• California Library Association (CLA) - over 3,000 members
• Illinois Library Association (ILA) - over 2,500 members
• Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) - over 1,400 members
• Michigan Library Association (MLA) - over 1,800 members
• Florida Library Association (FLA) - over 1,800 members
• North Carolina Library Association (NCLA) - over 1,500 members
• Ohio Library Council (OLC) - over 1,000 members
• Georgia Library Association (GLA) - over 900 members

Q:  Which library associations at the state, US-state equivalent, or national level have the most members in the world?

A:  The library associations with the most members in the world are typically national-level library associations, and the following are some of the largest and most prominent:

• American Library Association (ALA) - over 57,000 members
• Library Association of the United Kingdom (CILIP) - over 12,000 members
• Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) - over 5,000 members
• Canadian Library Association (CLA) - over 3,000 members
• New Zealand Library Association (LIANZA) - over 1,000 members

As for state-level or US-state equivalent library associations, the Texas Library Association (TLA) is one of the largest, with over 6,000 members.  However, it is important to note that membership numbers for state-level library associations can vary greatly and may not be as large as those for national-level library associations.

—

The above was submitted to me for anonymous publication so parents, legislators, and librarians could get valuable inside information not available from other sources where such voices are silenced.  This is another in a series of anonymous publications from librarians calling out for reform.  Send submissions to me at SafeLibraries@pm.me. 

If you wish, retweet this:

Librarian Warns Parents + Librarians About S3xualization of Children; Texas SB13 Legislative Efforts by TXLA Criticizedhttps://t.co/NQXwO3SBL7#txlege #txla23 @thedaughter17 @JaredLPatterson @GabsClark5 @Stillurfvseason @BasedLibrarian @XVanFleet @Nicoletta0602 @LandonStarbuck

— SafeLibraries® (@SafeLibraries) April 4, 2023

URL of this page: 

safelibraries.blogspot.com/2023/04/librarian-warns-parents-and-librarians.html

On Twitter: 

Follow @SafeLibraries and Follow @SexHarassed

#txla23 #txlege

The Lost Art of Librarianship; Tenured Library Faculty Message for Librarians and Patrons

I received my MLS in the 1990s, and focused on knowledge management and advanced reference.  We studied Jesse Shera, whose works are still relevant today but have been replaced by social media 101 courses.  The replacement of traditional library theory does a huge disservice to patrons who seek in-depth research assistance.  Today's librarians are happy to conduct a Google search and move on.  This is evidenced by the bias (implicit and explicit) in search results delivered to patrons.  Librarians of today are too busy to staff the reference desk.  Virtual reference is now the norm.

I entered librarianship when I had to learn Telnet, Gopher, Archie, etc.  Then came Mosaic!!!  Email started to be a method of communication.  Such exciting times!  Funny how my then mentors viewed email with skepticism and now we can’t live without it; checking multiple times a day.

I have worked in hospital, medical, and corporate libraries before landing a tenure track position in academia.  I loved my job and my profession.  But over the years, in-depth research consulting gave way to drag story time and anti-white rhetoric with bias training for staff and faculty every week.  Every.  Fricking.  Week.  Pronouns were strongly encouraged on our signature line.  Letters of support for BLM and other injustices du jour were distributed.  Meanwhile, anyone who dared to disagree was marginalized.  I’d had enough…….

A year ago, I resigned my from tenured library faculty position.  I gave up my faculty status.  I gave up tenure.  I pulled my promotion packet.  I gave up teaching.  I am now in a different unit on campus as staff where we work for the mission of the institution, not for radical indoctrination.  I, once again, make a difference and use my traditional library skills daily.

Do I miss being a librarian?  Yes, I do.  Do colleagues, other faculty and students on campus miss my library services?  Yes, they do.  I receive emails for assistance—too often.  

Meanwhile, radical librarianship continues to thrive and it's the patrons who receive inferior services.  Our focus should be to help people find the information they need to conduct their research and write their papers.  Not impart our philosophy.  I applaud the librarians who are committed to providing holistic services.

Perhaps librarians of today should reflect on the past and discover how the profession was once revered and respected for their vast knowledge of where to find information.  I hope administrators and the public wake up and scrutinize what is happening in today's libraries.

—

The above is word-for-word from a former tenured library faculty member who wishes to remain anonymous but who hopes librarians/patrons will read and consider his/her words before librarianship becomes a lost art.  Librarians wishing to make anonymous statements may reach out to me for anonymous publication.  The graphic top right is a picture I added, taken at the Texas Library Association annual meeting where a drag queen was the keynote speaker.

URL of this page: 
safelibraries.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-lost-art-of-librarianship.html

Follow @SexHarassed

Library Director Fired; ALA Ignores Sexually Harassed Librarians Again?

Here is the anonymous letter that led to a library director being fired by her library board at York County Library, South Carolina, and below is local and American Library Association [ALA] reporting on the issue and a portion of my FOIA request:

---

York County Library in crisis ­ please help

You are receiving this email because you are a staff or board member of York County Library, involved in local government in York County, involved in state government with South Carolina, work with the SC state library or otherwise have awareness of or involvement with this library system. This message is coming from an account that will be deleted after all outgoing emails have been delivered. No replies will be received or read. The content of this message will make clear why it has been sent anonymously.

York County Library is in a state of crisis. Staff members are fearful for their jobs because they work under leadership that rules through intimidation and harassment. Let me be clear: York County Library Executive Director Colleen Pappas is a major liability for York County and has systematically destroyed staff morale along with the library’s once sterling reputation for community service.

Staff members have been repeatedly threatened with disciplinary action for things as simple as asking a question of a York County government employee or attempting to contact a library board member. Numerous policy documents contain language stating that employees may be terminated at any time for any reason. This is factually true in a right to state like South Carolina however the widespread use of this language on everything from employee handbook pages to personal leave requests perpetuates a work environment of fear and uncertainty. Staff members have documentation showing they have experienced retribution and retaliation from Mrs. Pappas for minor infractions or in some cases for no infractions at all.

Staff members of York County Library have contacted library board members. The board members have not taken any action because the staff members have remained anonymous. When you are told that you are subject to disciplinary action for questioning the executive director or going outside the chain of command for a valid legal question you become hesitant to ever sign your name. I know. I am an employee of York County Library. Over the past nine years that Colleen Pappas, previously Colleen Carney and then Colleen Kaphengst, has been the executive director I have witnessed Mrs. Pappas make decisions that are unethical at best and potentially illegal at worst. Read the list below and ask yourself if you know about of these situations.

1. Mrs. Pappas recruiting and hiring staff members to serve as private library security guards without the required license and in violation of South Carolina law

2. Children of Deputy Director Shasta Brewer being repeatedly hired without any application or interview and in direct violation of the library’s anti­-nepotism clause

3. A serious workplace accident at the Rock Hill branch involving a staff member and one of Ms. Brewer’s sons who was not technically an on the books employee at the time

4. Mrs. Pappas refusing to give staff members cost of living increases in a timely manner as approved by York County government and then threatening staff members who inquired about the increase with disciplinary action

5. Mrs. Pappas creating new positions for her personal friends and filling those positions without even minimal effort to follow best practice hiring standards

6. Mrs. Pappas selecting rare or out of print items from the York County Library collection to be withdrawn at her discretion and then made available for her alone to purchase from the Friends of the Library book sale

7. Discriminatory hiring practices for professional positions with all York County Library locations managed by white women until recently and no persons of color in professional librarian positions anywhere in the library system

8. Mrs. Pappas’ refusal to adequately address staff concerns about inappropriate behavior from library patrons and then using language that places blame on the employees who were being harassed

9. Mrs. Pappas developing new policies for the board to approve that are harsh in nature and have further disenfranchised under served populations including African­-Americans and Latino immigrants

10. Ongoing lack of transparency through all stages of the annual library budget process with the library’s book budget being routinely cut to cover other expenses

11. Mrs. Pappas’ continued employment of an unqualified bookkeeper with no financial qualification who serves as de facto finance manager and has made numerous errors related to benefits and retirement programs

12. Mrs. Pappas’ hiring of a then current member of the York County Library board to be the manager of the Rock Hill library

13. Multiple potential threats of legal action from staff members who have experienced discrimination, threats to their continued employment, stress­-induced medical conditions, illegal hiring practices, and a hostile work environment

14. Multiple EEOC violations that may result in legal action taken against the York County Library and Mrs. Pappas

We are tired of seeing our library fail to meet the needs of our community and fail to treat its employees with respect and professionalism. Our employee handbook makes it clear to us that Mrs. Pappas is untouchable. Our grievance procedure leaves final decision making in any situation up to her. We have no voice because we are scared to speak up. We need someone to take action to make things right. Mrs. Pappas’ time at York County Library has not been without accomplishment. That does not outweigh the intolerable situation for staff which can no longer be ignored.

I cannot sign my name to this message because I cannot afford to lose my job. I am one of many who loves this library and whose spirit feels broken. I beg of you to please ask questions. Make public records requests. Talk to the new human resources manager. Refuse to settle for the smoke and mirrors numbers game of library statistics Mrs. Pappas uses to obscure the facts. Give staff a change to speak with a guarantee they will be safe from Mrs. Pappas' retaliation. Our county deserves to have a library director who can rebuild what has become broken. That person is not Colleen Pappas.

This is not a personal attack. This is not an attempt at character assassination. This is blowing the whistle on Mrs. Pappas and her growing legacy of destructive leadership. Mrs. Pappas could retire. She could resign. The board could dismiss her. Staff are prepared to begin airing their grievances publicly and repeatedly until something is done. We are desperate for a resolution. Will someone please help us?

From: YCL Truth  

To: saveycl@gmail.com 

Bcc: allstaff@yclibrary.net

Sun, Aug 7, 2016 at 10:08 PM 

York County Library 

138 East Black St 

PO Box 10032 

Rock Hill, SC 29731­-0032

---

Excellent local reporting, mainly in The Herald by Jennifer Becknell:

• "York County Library Director Fired by Board Amid Investigation Into Management," by Jennifer Becknell, The Herald (Rock Hill, SC), 26 August 2016.
• "York County Library Board of Trustees Fires Director Colleen Pappas," by Manning Kimmel, WRHI AM 1340, 26 August 2016.
• "York County Library Board Discusses Allegations Against Director," by Jennifer Becknell, The Herald (Rock Hill, SC), 24 August 2016.
• "Charlotte Area Library Chief On Leave Amid Allegations of 'Crisis,'" by Jennifer Becknell, The Charlotte Observer, 16 August 2016.
• "York County Library Director On Leave Amid Investigation Into Allegations," by Jennifer Becknell, The Herald (Rock Hill, SC), 15 August 2016.

---

American Library Association reporting on the issue in its own American Libraries membership magazine. ALA completely ignores the issue of the sexual harassment of librarians, something ALA leadership says never happens, because its own policy guidance is the very reason for the sexual harassment.  ALA doesn't even assign the piece a title nor an author:

• "Untitled," by Unnamed, American Libraries, 26 August 2016 (hyperlinks and emphasis in original):

The York County (S.C.) Library director was fired August 26 in a unanimous vote of the library’s board of trustees, amid an unfinished investigation into her management that was sparked by an anonymous email. Colleen Pappas, who served as chief of the county library system for nine years, has been on administrative leave since an August 11 board meeting. Board Chair Barbara Boulware declined to comment further on the allegations, or to say whether she believes any of them were found to be accurate. Rock Hill (S.C.) Herald, Aug. 26

PERHAPS THIS IS THE MEANS FOR OTHER LIBRARIANS TO STOP THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THEIR OWN LIBRARIES THAT IS CAUSED BY LIBRARY LEADERSHIP FOLLOWING AMERICAN LIBRARY POLICY THAT ALLOWS UNFILTERED INTERNET VIEWING DESPITE THE LAW.  SUBMIT ANONYMOUS LETTERS DETAILING THE ONGOING HARASSMENT.  The anonymous letter at issue did not provide enough detail, unfortunately.

Also notice Library Journal, not associated business-wise with ALA but totally sycophantic, wrote absolutely nothing about this story.  Check here.  This is the latest example that Library Journal also downplays and hides the issue of the sexual harassment of librarians as caused by ALA anything-goes policy applied locally.

So again, both ALA and Library Journal ignore sexually harassed librarians, it would appear.  But it's not hard to check into this.  I did.  I could do more, like get the EEOC case, but at least I did what I did.  Below is my FOIA request and above is the results of my FOIA request which states, emphasis mine:

• 8. Mrs. Pappas’ refusal to adequately address staff concerns about inappropriate behavior from library patrons and then using language that places blame on the employees who were being harassed
• 13. Multiple potential threats of legal action from staff members who have experienced discrimination, threats to their continued employment, stress­-induced medical conditions, illegal hiring practices, and a hostile work environment
• 14. Multiple EEOC violations that may result in legal action taken against the York County Library and Mrs. Pappas

I'll say I cannot prove sexual harassment from the unfiltered Internet was the exact issue based solely on that email; more investigation needs to be done into that, and ALA is doing none.  Still, the problem is seen in library after library, so what the email reports is quite likely to be related to sexual harassment.

And the key sentence why librarians fear speaking up about ALA policy applied locally:

"I cannot sign my name to this message because I cannot afford to lose my job."

And ALA did nothing, other than a quick untitled, unauthored news blurb with a mere 83 words.  Library Journal didn't even do that.

Now ALA has set up an elaborate system invading public libraries and public schools nationwide for librarians and school librarians or media specialists to immediately report to ALA any parent ever questioning any book, school book, or web site.  Each parent without fail is attacked as a censor.  Then each year ALA reports its finding in a massive propaganda campaign that goes worldwide called "Banned Books Week" when in reality no book has been banned since 1963.  Yet here we have real librarians and library employees, let's not forget them, really being sexually harassed and ALA does absolutely nothing, to protect its own anything-goes policy, and worse, even denies the situation exists.  There's no reporting to ALA on this issue.  There's no telephone number at ALA for sexually harassed librarians and library employees to call.  There are only sexually harassed librarians who fear losing their jobs for speaking up.  Even for speaking up anonymously, sexually harassed librarians get attacked by ALA's defenders, even to the point of feeling triggered again and self-censoring.

Free speech at ALA so children should read anything no matter how inappropriate?  Well there's no free speech for sexually harassed librarians or library employees.  They either get fired or they quit, like this library employee did: "Library Insider Linda Zec Gives Scoop on Porn in Libraries."  And ALA will never help them.

By the way, when I attempted to investigate this matter of the potential for sexual harassment (and no one else does, especially at ALA or Library Journal), I was personally attacked by librarians who gang up to defend ALA's anything-goes policy and silence any opposition, and the issue of sexually harassed librarians was intentionally ignored.  For republishing my FOIA request on Reddit Libraries, I received the following responses:

• "Dan... fuck you."
• "'I am a member of the media'; what media outlet do you work for Dan?"
• "Please ignore Inspector Clouseau."
• "Oh. good. We were all wondering when Dan Dan the Porno Man was going to get involved in this situation.  Here's to you getting to the bottom of this Dan! Clearly, all 'inappropriate behavior from library patrons' is going to be child porn.  I mean, no way patrons could be doing anything else 'inappropriate', but don't worry about other things, just focus on your obsession with child porn."
• "'(Please ignore trolls who may attack me and ignore the potential issue of the sexual harassment of librarians.)' that being the entire library community  why is it when people disagree with you they are trolls and when you say utterly unhinged shit like 'ALA pro child-porn policy ' we are supposed to take you seriously."
• "dan is a one trick pony - like seriously he keeps watching that pony trick over and over and over again"

I cannot go back and update the Reddit post since those librarians successfully got me banned from Reddit.  Tolerance will not be tolerated.  Free speech will be quashed if it harms the self-arrogated free speech police at ALA.  Or as the anonymous email to York County said, "I cannot sign my name to this message because I cannot afford to lose my job."

---

Here is a portion of my original FOIA request:

Given the recent news in The Herald and the Charlotte Observer written by Jennifer Becknell about library director Colleen Pappas being placed on administrative leave due to an anonymous email sent to “library trustees, local and state government officials, state library officials and others,” I hereby request a copy of that anonymous and obviously public email.

I am particularly interested in what the newspaper reported that may pertain to the sexual harassment of librarians. I have a publication called Sexual Harassment of Librarians and I will likely publish any FOIA response on that publication. This quote is especially concerning:

Pappas refused to adequately address staff concerns about “inappropriate behavior from library patrons” and she placed “blame on the employees who were being harassed”; ….

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article95893167.html

When that happens, there could be serious consequences for the harassed librarian and for the employer who allows the harassment to continue, especially while blaming the victim. Where that employer is a public entity, there could be serious consequences for town governments and for tax payers.

Also, I request documents revealing the receipt of E-rate funding under CIPA for “Internet Access,” if any. Do not send documents pertaining solely to “Telecom” or “Voice Services.” Your Internet policy claims the library is CIPA compliant but FCC/USAC records show the library never collected any funds for “Internet Access” (while it has for “Telecom” and “Voice Services” which does not require Internet filtering software and policies). Therefore, I seek the documents to determine if the FCC/USAC records are false. If the records are accurate, then either the library is not CIPA complaint as claimed or the library has failed to apply for over a decade worth of funding that would have been there for the asking.

....

Should any librarians wish to contact me, I will be happy to publish anything they say, anonymously, of course. Any time exposure is given to the sexual harassment of librarians, that only increases the ability to prevent such exposure in other instances. I seek to help librarians end sexual harassment, caused by patrons, that may have resulted from adherence to American Library Association [ALA] policy instead of the law, community standards, and common sense. ALA says sexually harassment of librarians has never happened despite all the law suits and big settlements and likely never will, but it appears York County Library may be yet another instance, and I’m investigating that possibility.

—

URL of this page: safelibraries.blogspot.com/2016/10/ala.html

On Twitter: @ALALibrary @AmLibraries @Beamer_YCL @LibraryJournal

Follow @SafeLibraries

Library Porn Results From ALA Minority Silencing Good Librarians; Boy's Death From Auto-Erotic Asphyxiation Results From ALA's 'Freedom of Information' Line; Allowing Porn In Libraries Is a Mistake

Librarian silenced by her leaders pushing "freedom"

I have been watching the recent porn incident at the Orland Park library with great interest.  There have been many similar problems, at many different libraries; and every time I hear of another porn incident,  I wonder “What is wrong with these administrators?”

I think the “freedom of information” line is a lazy argument.  Even if you could argue that we have a constitutional right to access porn under the guise of information, you cannot argue that it is the library’s responsibility to provide that information.  There is a lot of “information” we don’t provide to people.   We don’t provide conspiracy theory information; we resist pointing people to information on how to kill themselves; we don’t allow viewing of child pornography in the library.  We don’t allow political solicitations or protesting.  Like all freedoms, there are limits to what the library has to provide to people.

I’ve always thought that the “freedom to view porn” librarians were wrong, but a recent tragedy in our area has underlined that belief and confirmed it for me.  I am a director of a library in a poor, rural area.  We have a large population of home-school families.  Many of these families do not own computers or have access to the Internet, so they come to the library on a regular basis to allow their children to do research, and do their studying.  One such family, the Smiths (not their real name) came in all the time, and their small children would use our children’s computers, their older kids would use the adult computers.  The Smiths were a deeply religious family, and some of the nicest people you would ever meet.  The children were well-behaved, the parents nice and thoughtful.  These parents were very involved in their children’s lives and we were always happy to see them in the library.

Our library does filter all our computers, so that we can receive e-rate funds.  We would not be able to afford Internet access if we didn’t.  Our children’s computers are very heavily filtered, while the adult computers are less so.  We primarily filter porn sites, but as everyone knows, filters aren’t perfect, and every now and then, we see someone viewing porn and ask them to stop.  If they don’t stop, we cut off their computer privileges and ask them to leave.  I don’t think it is fair to other patrons to have to accidentally see something so inappropriate.

Returning to the Smith’s story, one of their children, we’ll call him Mike, was 12, which is old enough to use the adult computers.  The Smiths knew we filtered, and they did keep an eye on him, but didn’t sit with him every minute he was on the computer.  Mike somehow developed an interest in auto-erotic asphyxiation, and used the computer to learn more.  Unfortunately, he tried it, and ended up killing himself.  In hindsight, his parents were able to figure out how he had gotten the information; and were able to easily find it themselves on our filtered computers.  While they did not blame the library for the tragedy, they did acknowledge that children are not safe on the Internet, even with filters.  And now a 12-year-old with a bright future ahead of him is dead.

This is a real-world example of why allowing porn in libraries is a mistake.  You never hear complaints from people “I went to the library and they wouldn’t let me look at porn.”  Why in the world would these libraries choose the porn enthusiast over everyone else?  Why would they put children at risk of viewing inappropriate things?  We all know parents are responsible for what their children see, but why do some  libraries think that is an excuse to allow a free-for-all on their public computers?  Some things are not appropriate in public places, and pornography is one of them.

Unfortunately, the American Library Association has chosen the side of porn enthusiasts.  They do not speak for most library workers, but it seems that many library administrators feel they must fall in line. Most library workers do not want porn in their libraries, because they know it’s inappropriate and don’t wish to be subjected to seeing it, or to deal with the inappropriate behaviors associated with porn-viewing (patrons exposing themselves, masturbating, etc.)  They certainly don’t want to deal with the complaints from parents and other patrons who don’t wish to be subjected to pornographic images.  We all want our libraries to be pleasant, comfortable places for ALL our patrons, not just the porn enthusiasts.

I’m writing this article anonymously, because I like my job, and don’t wish to hurt my chances for future employment by speaking out against the ALA.  The ALA unfairly charges those of us who refuse to provide access to porn as “censors.”  We are not trying to ban pornography everywhere, just in our libraries.  Just in places where the public comes to read, study, play on the computer, and relax.  Porn has no place in that.

I'm glad [that SafeLibraries provides free speech for silenced librarians], and can only hope it makes some difference to someone.  This is a subject that bothers me greatly, but in libraryland, you have to be careful about what you say.  Sometimes I feel like there are probably more of us who fight against porn in the libraries, than those who fight to allow it.  But they've made us defensive by calling us censors.  They've controlled the argument for a long time, it seems.

### 30 ###

The above is from an anonymous library director who asked me to publish it.  SafeLibraries started from day one over a decade ago in part because I noticed my own public library made ALA's recommended auto-erotic asphyxiation web site available to my child:

• "Porn and Sex Abuse In Our Public Libraries: Public Library Porn Harms Children, Patrons, Librarians, and Porn Industry Actors," by Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries, 24 July 2011 (hyperlink omitted):

  So I investigated my local public library and found it had a page called "Fun Sites for Kids and Teens."  On that page was an ALA-recommended web site about bestiality and how to have a better orgasm by strangling yourself, and so on.  The library director agreed the link was inappropriate and agreed to remove it, but it was never removed.
  
  I went to the library board meeting and was told citizens are not sophisticated enough to make decisions—that why libraries have boards.  So I started a web site to get people in the town organized.  I suppose I'm a community organizer.  Anyway, that led to my being noticed nationally.

Come to find ALA may have been involved in the equation that lead to the death of a boy, according to what the anonymous library director just revealed.  "Mike somehow developed an interest in auto-erotic asphyxiation"?  In my library that "somehow" was the ALA.  As ALA said about what it recommended that described auto-erotic asphyxiation, "The friendly, anonymous format is probably quite appealing to young adults."  I apologize I could did not put a stop to this in time to prevent what happened to "Mike" though I tried.  But I'm one person against over four decades of ALA propaganda that began with an Illinois ACLU board member joining ALA and changing it from within to promote porn and silence opposition.

I need more anonymous librarians to contact me and to speak out to stop this craziness.

The image at the top of the page comes from the following, and note the quote and the need for a pseudonym:

"Freedom," by CCL, Concerned Librarians of British Columbia, 1 June 2012:

librarians themselves have no protection against those would would silence and censor an opinion that is different from opinions held by those in positions of authority and power.

See also:

• "The Anything Goes ALA is Out of the Mainstream by Defending the Right of Children to Access Pornography in Public Libraries," by Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries, 2 March 2010, citing the great Will Manley:

  Why is there such a disconnect between our profession and everyone else on this particular issue?  More specifically, how could we have allowed ourselves to be put in such a publicly disadvantageous position as defending the right of children to access pornography?  The answer is simple and ironic.  Our profession preaches intellectual freedom but does not tolerate its practice within our own ranks.  Librarians imbued with common sense and good political judgment are afraid to espouse even a moderate position that advocates the limited use of filters.  There is a great fear within librarianship of being branded a censor.  No librarian wants to be wounded by that bullet.  That's why we can never really initiate an open and honest dialogue among ourselves on issues involving even the most obvious need for limitations of intellectual freedom.  As a result, the extremists always dominate, and we end up with an "anything goes" official policy that distances the library profession from mainstream America.

"If you don't like it, leave,"
from Wilson v. Birmingham

While it is extremely rare for librarians to speak out, one librarian retired from the Orland Park Public Library mentioned by Anonymous did finally speak out against the library's porn pushing.  And note she was basically told if you don't like it then leave:

• "Liars and Tigers and Porn... Oh My!," by Linda Zec, Life According to Linda, 9 November 2013.
• "This Orland Park Library Porn Has a Life of its Own," by Linda Zec, Life According to Linda, 15 November 2013.

NOTE ADDED 23 NOVEMBER 2013:

This post has been cited by Megan Fox here:

• "Why the American Library Association Wants Porn in Libraries; Now We See the Consequences of Another Cultural Institution Infiltrated by Radicals," by Megan Fox, PJ Media, 23 November 2013.

URL of this page:  safelibraries.blogspot.com/2013/11/ALAKillsBoy.html

On Twitter:  @LindaZec @OrlandPkLibrary @OIF @VillageOrlandPk

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