Public awareness of crime, sexual harassment in libraries, and inappropriate books and web sites in schools due to American Library Association policy. ⚖️
The Brooklyn Public Library main branch at Grand Army Plaza has stolen a whopping ten million dollars from the federal government under the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) program. I have written about this theft in 2009 when the damage was only $2.5M but since then it keeps growing year after year with no end in sight. And that's just in one library. See:
In the past I contacted multiple attorneys about filing a Qui Tam case (False Claims Act) against the library. They all said there was clear fraud recoverable under the law but that they would not take action against a public library. This is another way librarians get away with violating law—because they take advantage of the great goodwill built within the government occupation called librarianship.
Still, if anyone else wants to file a Qui Tam case, it allows whistleblowers to get up to 30% of the recovery of the stolen money for themselves, just use the information I'm reporting here. 30% of $10M = $3M. Could be a great inflation fighter for enterprising citizens.
In reaction to this reporting on fraud, the Brooklyn Public Library blocked me on Twitter, tossing aside the law yet again. I had to remind them that is illegal and they have unblocked me as a result:
So I returned to the library to investigate how things have changed since 2009. The theft has been modernized, that is all. While I was able to get to P*rnHub on only one of three computers, that still shows Internet filters can be removed simply by clicking the right buttons, actually just touching the screen now, without having to ask a librarian as required by the CIPA law.
To comply with CIPA, "Schools and libraries must certify they are in compliance with CIPA before they can receive E-rate funding. .... An authorized person may disable the blocking or filtering measure during use by an adult to enable access for bona fide research or other lawful purposes." Source:
The "authorized person" is not the "adult" himself from the clear wording of the FCC requirement. An adult simply may not authorize himself to have unfiltered access. That would make the sentence and the law meaningless. No adult patron has "authority" to disable filters for anyone, let alone himself. An "authorized person" is someone working for the library, like the young lady sitting there in a booth to help the computer users. By the way, she expressed to me disgust at the men who use the room for p*rnography viewing. And a security guard told me men can look at Internet p*rnography if they do it discreetly. What? Clearly he has been reprogrammed by the librarians violating the law.
So what I discovered is a simple way to view p*rnography—for free—without having to be authorized by anyone. Simply go to a Brooklyn Public Library "Self-Service" kiosk. And right there it says "self-service," indicating a possible violation of the CIPA "authorized person" requirement. Touch "Guest Pass Services." Touch "Adult." Touch a yes/no question about adding money for printing. Et voilà, your free guest pass prints out. You type in the numbers to log into a terminal. You get a desktop. You open Google Chrome and it opens to bklynlibrary.org. Simply type in any thing you like, like P*rnHub.com, et voilà. So the "authorized person" requirement is 100% defeated in violation of CIPA. See pictures here (and I grabbed the P*rnHub page before the images fully loaded so it should be safe for work):
#AmWriting how @BKLYNlibrary#NYC stole $10M from federal government under CIPA program. Children’s Internet Protection Act.
I’ll be viciously attacked by #librarians for reporting how.
That is a violation of CIPA law. The person who filed with the federal government is defrauding the government since funding would not have been granted without the lie that the law is being followed. Librarians will naturally say it does not violate CIPA. But they would be wrong and would be using a double standard. You see, librarians cannot both be experts on the law and at the same time ignorant of the law. Librarians say they cannot determine what is child p*rnography since they are not lawyers. Suddenly they are CIPA experts? "'A librarian is not a legal process,' Krug said. 'There is not librarian in the country—unless she or he is a lawyer—who is in the position to determine what he or she is looking at is indeed child p*rnography.'"
Naturally people will want to confirm my calculations:
CIPA funding for "Internet Access" for Brooklyn Public Library,
Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY:
$315,414.00 and $140,400.00 in 2022
$309,474.00 and $163,857.60 in 2021
$286,254.00 and $183,427.20 in 2020
$289,044.00 and $161,827.20 in 2019
$681,090.88 and $70,113.60 and $70,113.60 in 2018
$783,143.53 and $155,347.20 in 2017
$612,806.40 and $165,984.00 in 2016
$324,000.00 in 2015
$0 in 2014
$560,044.80 in 2013
$553,337.76 in 2012
$537,284.37 in 2011
$562,604.80 in 2010
$428,040.00 in 2009
$428,040.00 in 2008
$317,340.00 in 2007
$423,712.72 and $835.10 in 2006
$372,564.00 in 2005
$2,278.80 and $510,000.00 in 2004
$1,920.00 and $504,000.00 in 2003
TOTAL: $9,914,299.56
Simple. To check the numbers and to investigate other libraries similarly stealing funds, simply "Search Commitments" at the Universal Service Administrative Co. website that administers the Federal Communications Commission's CIPA program funding:
So this needs investigation by the proper authorities. And that $10M stolen money is just from a single Brooklyn Public Library branch in a single New York City library system, I believe (unless they filed as an aggregate, I don't know). It is possible hundreds of millions are being defrauded from the federal government just in New York City alone while libraries like Brooklyn Public Library get funded by New York City Council for things, illegal in and of themselves in libraries, like Drag Queen Story Hour.
Hundreds of millions, people. Stolen, by librarians, to enable p*rn viewing in public libraries despite the law that requires libraries be for the use and benefit of the public, and that's neither Drag Queen Story Hour nor P*rnHub nor massive theft from the federal government.
The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch sits in plain view of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza. You can see President Abraham Lincoln astride a horse, shown top right, from the library's front steps. Imagine how disgusted that man would be at the thievery going on at the Brooklyn Public Library, just so people could be enslaved to Internet p*rnography in violation of federal law, let alone the victims including children of such websites.
"The Almighty has His own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh.'"
NOTE: DUE TO BIG TECH CENSORSHIP OF THIS POST, I HAVE ADDED A * INTO THE WORD THAT APPARENTLY TRIGGERED AN INTERSTITIAL ALERT THAT BLOCKED ACCESS TO THIS PAGE. KIDS CAN GET THIS IN LIBRARIES BUT GOOGLE CAN'T LET ADULTS READ ABOUT IT. I HOPE MY CHANGE REMOVES THE ALERT.
NOTE ADDED 5 SEPTEMBER 2022:
I have sent the following email to the library seeking documents that were filed by the library with the FCC to obtain the CIPA funding for Internet Access:
Dear Selvon Smith,
Greetings. I'm planning to file an official FOIL request or requests for public documents over which you have direct control and are likely the author. To save us both time and effort, I thought I would contact you first to request the documents that I believe are definitely easy and legal for you to provide to me, preferably as PDF attachments to your response to this email.
It's a very simple request too. And I got your email address from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that shows you are the person who submitted the documents.
Here's what I request:
All forms filed on behalf of the Brooklyn Public Library with the FCC regarding E-rate or the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and dated any time during 2020, 2021, and 2022.
I'm guessing this will be very easy for you (as the likely author of the documents) to find and gather, perhaps in less time than it takes to read this email. I'm not even asking for any responses from the FCC.
Since these were submissions to the FCC, they are already public documents so they should not be redacted in any way.
See? Easy peasy.
Thank you.
--
----------
Dan Kleinman, Owner of SafeLibraries® brand library educational services
The American Library Association is the nation's top facilitator of child pornography. Enabling ALA in this facilitation is the Institute of Museum and Library Services [IMLS]. President Trump seeks to defund IMLS. That scares ALA that stands to lose millions in future funding, like the $9,589,105.00 IMLS has granted ALA in the past to help enable its facilitation of child pornography, even if indirectly by freeing up funding for furthering the facilitation.
#SaveIMLS is ALA's effort to keep the child porn facilitation funding flowing and keep awarding the libraries committing CIPA fraud by the millions of dollars since they follow ALA policy. Of course it is worded as saving libraries or "building youth literacy skills" or "maker spaces" or "libraries matter" or "libraries transform." ALA mocks parents who want to act on behalf of children but they sure use the trick when it really is faked for self gain.
Can you imagine if ALA was honest? #SaveIMLS! "Libraries facilitate child porn!" "Child porn is your First Amendment right unless you are caught and a judge says otherwise!" "We defend all child porn viewers from invasion of privacy in public libraries!"
Worse, #SaveIMLS is astroturfed, meaning if you see in newspapers that people and libraries oppose losing IMLS funding, it is because ALA put them up to it. It is literally fake news. Faked fake news. ALA astroturfed on net neutrality despite IRS 501(c)(3) rules, so why should it not do it again? It is doing it again and
It comes complete with a child character from Harry Potter chopping off the head of a snake, red blood and all, saying #NevilleFightsBack. #Resist! Meaning, apparently under the circumstances and given ALA's general hostility to the President, Neville fights back against the President of the United States by chopping off the head of the snake. That would be Donald Trump. Excellent propaganda to get kids to "#resist" and astroturf for ALA's #SaveIMLS:
There's so much more evidence, but that's enough for now. Just take a look at Sharyl Attkisson discussing astroturfing at a TED Talk:
American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries
Log Number:
NE-01-00-0003-00
Fiscal Year:
2000
Award: $149,924.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Education and Training
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-06-05-0112-05
Fiscal Year:
2005
Award: $239,416.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Research
Recipient Type:
Library
In this project, the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Research and Statistics and the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) will survey library networks, consortia, and cooperatives to develop a clear and current understanding of how library networks and cooperatives operate and the many ways these collaborative organizations help advance learning communities. Currently, library planners and policy makers must rely on outdated and inadequate information because they lack reliable definitions and sufficient data. The project will develop definitions and classifications in a Web-based dictionary and create an online report generator. All resources developed in the project will be freely available from the ALA Web site. ASCLA will provide ongoing support and updating of the data after the end of the grant period.
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-06-12-0494-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $486,587.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Research
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
Management of Content and Collections
21st Century Skills
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Community
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Community
Access to Content and Collections
The American Library Association and the University of Maryland, in partnership with the International City/County Management Association, will conduct a three-year study of public libraries as providers of digitally inclusive services and resources. Digital literacy and digital inclusion are becoming increasingly important aspects of individual and community success. This study will generate new understanding of the roles public libraries are playing, and gaps or needs that must be addressed to help libraries fulfill their vision of equitable access for all. Building on the methods of the long-running Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study, this new investigation will provide useful new data for public policy decision makers and funders.
Public Library Association
Log Number:
LG-06-13-0203-13
Fiscal Year:
2013
Award: $499,741.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Research
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
The Public Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children, divisions of the American Library Association will support a three year project to conduct research that will examine how library programming about early literacy development affects parent behavior and engagement. Through the support of parent focused early literacy services and programs, public libraries can play a key role in helping children become ready to read and be ready for school. However, the research demonstrating the impact of parent education programming at public libraries has not been undertaken. “Bringing Home Early Literacy: Determining the Impact of Library Programming on Parent Behavior,” will determine whether parents or caregivers who engage in early literacy practices with their children help them develop the early literacy skills they need to be ready to read.
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-07-10-0228-10
Fiscal Year:
2010
Award: $581,609.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Demonstration
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
Community
The American Library Association will partner with the University of Illinois, the University of Maryland, and Florida State University to develop a Web-based resource to help libraries and governments provide better e-government–related services such as filing taxes, applying for citizenship, enrolling children in schools, and applying for social services. This project will enable greater coordination between government agencies and libraries, reduce costly duplication of effort, and provide a more comprehensive model for serving users of e-government. The Web-based resource will include useful content, tutorials, best practice recommendations, an embedded government information digital reference service, guidance on the provision of e-government services, an online forum for service providers to share and exchange information, and tools to facilitate local customization of e-government services provision in libraries. The project will design, develop, and test the Web-based resource in coordination with multiple states and public libraries.
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-07-12-0495-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $249,867.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Demonstration
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
Community
Building upon earlier planning work supported by IMLS, the American Library Association and its partner StoryCorps will develop and implement “StoryCorps @ Your Library,” a replicable program to be piloted at ten public libraries that will be selected from across the country. Recipient libraries will receive equipment, training, promotional materials, and other resources to help them implement community documentation projects using the popular StoryCorps interview model. Local libraries will retain copies of all interviews, but preservation copies will also be deposited with the Library of Congress. The project team will produce freely shareable training materials to help public libraries better understand strategies for sustaining local oral history programs.
American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries
Log Number:
LG-07-12-0571-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $249,330.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Demonstration
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
21st Century Skills
Community
The American Library Association’s Association for College and Research Libraries will partner with the Association for Institutional Research and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities to design, implement, and evaluate a new program that helps academic libraries develop new assessment plans that better reflect library contributions. The program will focus on library impacts in key areas such as student learning and success. As part of the project, 300 teams, each consisting of librarians and other campus representatives from U.S. colleges and universities, will receive training in data-informed advocacy, and each team will develop an assessment plan appropriate for its campus and academic library.
American Library Association, Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies
Log Number:
LG-55-11-0346-11
Fiscal Year:
2011
Award: $33,968.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
The American Library Association (ALA) will conduct a four-month planning grant as the beginning of a multiyear collaboration, making StoryCorps services accessible to public libraries across the country. StoryCorps is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to record, preserve, and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs. Drawing on the knowledge of a diverse advisory group of library professionals, ALA and StoryCorps will convene a Board of Advisors to aid in the planning and design of this collaborative national program. In doing so, it will create a replicable model resulting in increased programming opportunities at libraries and collection growth that can benefit institutions of all sizes and their communities.
Association of College and Research Libraries
Log Number:
LG-62-11-0216-11
Fiscal Year:
2011
Award: $99,985.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
Two national summits will be convened to recommend strategies that help academic libraries better demonstrate their value and better explain how their services align with the institutional goals of colleges and universities. The Association of College and Research Libraries, in partnership with the Association for Institutional Research, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and the Council of Independent Colleges, will collaborate to host the two events, which will serve as the basis for a white paper that summarizes findings and establishes recommendations for future action.
American Library Association, Young Adult Library Services Association
Log Number:
LG-62-12-0538-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $99,937.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
21st Century Skills
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Community
The American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association will conduct a yearlong series of national forum activities to bring together key stakeholders from libraries, education, technology, adolescent development, and the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Invited participants will meet both virtually and face to face to explore the world of young adult library services and ultimately produce a white paper that will provide direction on how these services needs to adapt to better meet the needs of 21st century teens.
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-62-13-0210-13
Fiscal Year:
2013
Award: $99,996.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
Preservation, Conservation, and Care of Content and Collections
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Access to Content and Collections
The American Library Association’s (ALA) Public Program Office will use its grant to develop and disseminate a white paper that documents the characteristics, audiences, outcomes, and value of public programming in libraries at a national level. The project team will examine general trends emerging from recent evaluations and use that data to create a framework for describing public programming in libraries, identify gaps in current knowledge, and develop research strategies to serve the field. Assessing the state of library programming on a national level will increase understanding of how library programs increase broad public access to knowledge and foster support for lifelong learners across diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
American Association of School Librarians
Log Number:
LG-62-13-0212-13
Fiscal Year:
2013
Award: $99,398.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
Issue Areas:
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Community
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Access to Content and Collections
Early Learning
The American Association of School Libraries will host a national forum to determine if a causal relationship exists between strong school library programs and student academic achievement. The forum will lead to the creation of an interdisciplinary, networked community of researchers focused on causal research in school libraries that meet the rigorous criteria for scientifically based empirical research. While past studies have suggested a correlation between school libraries staffed by professional school librarians and containing adequate resources to increased student achievement, further progress requires the more rigorous experimental design of causal studies. Fifty invited scholars from the school library and related research fields will participate in the forum, which will lead to the publication of a white paper that will guide further inquiry on this topic.
American Library Association
Log Number:
LG-00-12-0755-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $50,000.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
National Leadership Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Planning Grants
Recipient Type:
Library
The Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association, will partner with Influx Library User Experience Consulting in this planning grant to develop and deploy a lightweight prototype of a web-based “summer reading app”. The project team will then coordinate with other organizations, including the Digital Public Library of America, to use the prototype software application as a means of gathering feedback from a variety of stakeholders, as to what features and functions would be desirable in a more fully-functional software application, to support summer reading programs in libraries across the country. PLA will use this feedback to draft a fuller functional requirements specification to potentially guide future software development efforts.
American Library Association, Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)
Log Number:
LG-46-13-0234-13
Fiscal Year:
2013
Award: $25,000.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries
State:
IL
Issue Areas:
21st Century Skills
Community
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, will create National Guidelines and Best Practices for Financial Literacy Education (FLE) in libraries nationwide. Both guidelines and best practices guides will be located and freely available on the RUSA website. Guidelines will consolidate and standardize best practices, innovative thinking, and successful service delivery models for library-based FLE, offering an essential framework for interventions to help patrons gain financial knowledge, literacy, and even fluency. The guidelines and best practices will spark substantial improvements in how and how many libraries offer appropriately tailored FLE services, filling a substantial nationwide service gap. Documents will be complemented by single- and three-session FLE webinars to help prepare librarians and library staff.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-40-16-0137-16
Fiscal Year:
2016
Award: $243,922.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
Recipient Type:
Library
American Library Association's Public Programs Office will develop and deliver web-based and in-person workshops that equip librarians with skills like coalition-building and dialogue facilitation so they can better understand, support, and engage with their communities. To meet this goal, the American Library Association will collaborate with the National Coalition on Dialogue and Deliberation to create a broader offering of free community engagement resources for exploration learning by library professionals. Training will be provided through a series of free webinars and three in-person pre-conference trainings. American Library Association will also offer 25 travel scholarships for small and rural librarians to participate in the in-person training.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-40-16-0081-16
Fiscal Year:
2016
Award: $305,085.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
Recipient Type:
Library
The American Library Association's Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) will create a training program for library staff around college and career readiness services for middle schoolers. Working in partnership with the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, the project is geared to library staff in libraries with a service population of 15,000 or fewer, as well as libraries that are 25 miles or more from an urbanized area. Initially, the project will train 80 library staff through a highly collaborative and inquiry-based process before adapting the training into self-paced eLearning modules that are freely available to the library community. Additionally, YALSA will support a community of practice within its existing Teen Programming HQ to promote peer-to-peer learning and will develop, test, and refine a suite of college and career-readiness resources for libraries to adapt based on individual community needs.
For more information on the project: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/future-ready-library
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-00-15-0108-15
Fiscal Year:
2015
Award: $50,000.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
Recipient Type:
Library
The American Library Association will provide 50 scholarships to help a diverse group of librarians, library staff, and library students in the United States attend the World Library and Information Congress in Columbus Ohio. The scholarships will be provided to individuals in the early or middle-stage (20 years or fewer) of their careers who are not already actively engaged in International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). The project will help to ensure the next generation of participants and leaders on the global stage from the United States fully represents the diversity in the community and in the country.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-00-15-0114-15
Fiscal Year:
2015
Award: $498,755.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Research in Early Careers Development
Recipient Type:
Library
This research project builds on a prior IMLS-funded research symposium to find out what works at the intersection of formal and informal learning in the school library through a planned and coordinated research agenda. Project activities will build on previous investigations underlying learning in libraries, testing findings of research, theory, and best practices. The project team will make recommendations about next steps in evaluating the impact of school libraries on student achievement and help determine methodologies for future research. The authors will also help identify key features of educational interventions that can be used as indicators that an intervention is likely to develop key skills needed to have significant positive impact on student performance.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-06-07-0047-07
Fiscal Year:
2007
Award: $407,111.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
The American Library Association, in partnership with the Western Council of State Librarians, will develop a national voluntary certification program for support staff in rural or small town public and academic libraries. Needs assessments for the last fifteen years have called for a national, standardized certification program for library support staff. The three-year project will result in a set of core competencies and policies and procedures. It will provide alternative options for assessing current knowledge of the field and experience for non-traditionally trained library staff. The resulting plan will be tested in five sites and will be sustained by ALA.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-06-07-0051-07
Fiscal Year:
2007
Award: $358,690.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
The American Library Association’s Public Programs Office will create and administer the Online Resource Center for Library Cultural Programming (ORC), a professional development Web site to help librarians find authoritative resources for cultural programming, and will train librarians in cultural programming techniques. The ORC will organize and make accessible through links and online documents a wide array of national cultural program information and training tools, and provide access to successful "turnkey" programs developed by cultural organizations such as state humanities councils, thus extending the value of the original investment in the programs. The ORC will be particularly useful for librarians in small rural libraries who rarely can attend conferences and have little professional development funding. The three-year project includes a major evaluation of the Web site by librarians, educators, and students.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-06-10-0082-10
Fiscal Year:
2010
Award: $590,110.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
This American Library Association project focuses on disseminating information on the availability, accessibility, and value of the Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC) program; adding additional approved courses and competency sets for specializations; collaborating with state libraries and Library Technical Assistant programs to develop reciprocity agreements and promote the LSSC Program; and measuring the impact of the program on an estimated 900 participants and the services they provide in their libraries.
American Library Association, Office for Literacy and Outreach Services
Log Number:
RE-06-15-0073-15
Fiscal Year:
2015
Award: $106,669.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, in partnership with ProLiteracy, will develop online training and supporting resources to better equip librarians and library staff to serve adult learners. This project will put into practice ALA’s “Adult Literacy through Libraries National Library Literacy Action Agenda.” The project supports lifelong learning and addresses the need for community engagement by developing tools to help frontline library staff prepare people to fully participate in their local communities and our global society. This project provides the information and tools libraries need to go all-in on adult literacy.
American Library Association, Public Library Association
Log Number:
RE-56-12-0031-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $45,145.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Collaborative Planning Grant
Issue Areas:
Community
Community
The Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association, in partnership with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), will undertake a one-year collaborative planning project to design and develop a leadership training model for key staff in public libraries across the United States. This project will design, pilot test, and develop an outcomes-based evaluation plan to provide leadership training to public library administrators, senior managers, and staff who want to increase their capacity to lead within the library and the community. With insight and instruction from ICMA, the grant project will also create a mechanism for librarians to work with municipal officials towards enhancing the capacity of libraries to be more active and successful participants in community initiatives.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-00-12-0117-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $250,837.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
The American Library Association will partner with The Harwood Institute on The Promise of Libraries Transforming Communities, a scalable program that will advance community engagement, innovation, and transform the role of libraries in their communities. The project will develop the tools, innovations and resources that will help libraries lead a collaborative approach to community engagement and community development. It will address the need in local communities for public innovators and change-agents by preparing library leaders who can make more intentional choices and judgments about fulfilling the promise of libraries in transforming communities. The partnership will develop ALA capacity, train more than 350 librarians as facilitators to their communities, and create a pilot set of inter-related professional development components.
Public Library Association
Log Number:
RE-00-12-0119-12
Fiscal Year:
2012
Award: $291,179.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
The Public Library Association will partner with the ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies to develop an online collection of digital literacy resources that will be accessible to libraries, patrons, and other community-based organizations. The team will gather and evaluate existing state and public library resources related to digital literacy, and promote these resources to increase library awareness. Grant activities will include development of training curricula in English and Spanish, technology trainer competencies, handouts, and patron skills assessment.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-00-13-0096-13
Fiscal Year:
2013
Award: $50,000.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Issue Areas:
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
The American Library Association (ALA), in consultation with thought leaders from the library and information science community and from other sectors, will use its grant to establish the Center for the Future of Libraries, modeled on the successful American Alliance of Museums Center for the Future of Museums. The goal will be to provide library planners and community leaders with information resources and tools that will help them understand the trends reshaping their libraries and communities and incorporate foresight into their planning processes. ALA will focus on collaborative planning, initial program and product development, and laying the groundwork for economic sustainability.
American Library Association, Office for Diversity
Log Number:
RE-01-04-0015-04
Fiscal Year:
2004
Award: $928,142.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Master’s Level Programs
The American Library Association's Office for Diversity will double the number of underrepresented master's in library science students in its Spectrum Initiative program from 105 to 210 and will create mechanisms to aggregate and disseminate information about diversity recruitment and education initiatives. It will collaborate with Association for Library and Information Science Education to hold a national-level dialogue and build an outreach program to enhance the capacities of library schools to attract diverse students. Match: $936,384
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-01-07-0098-07
Fiscal Year:
2007
Award: $872,920.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Master’s Level Programs
Building on the success of the Spectrum Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships for ethnically and racially underrepresented students attending graduate library and information science programs, the American Library Association will initiate “REACH 21: Preparing the Next Generation of Librarians for 21st Century Library Leadership.” The project will foster the recruitment, matriculation, and early career development of 150 minority students in master’s-level library and information science programs; provide mentoring and coaching of sixty additional students from underrepresented backgrounds; establish a formal, year-long mentoring program that will leverage community and support networks and aid educational and early career retention; and create an outreach services component.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-02-11-0025-11
Fiscal Year:
2011
Award: $886,499.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Doctoral Programs
Issue Areas:
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
Inclusive and Accessible Learning
Diversifying library and information science education is critical to the preparation of future librarians, the advancement of research within the field, and the sustained relevance of the profession and its practice to an increasingly diverse nation. The American Library Association Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship Program: Building Change will provide tuition and stipends for at least seven ethnically diverse students pursuing PhDs in library and information science at one of 21 participating academic programs. Currently, only 15 percent of doctoral degrees awarded by library school programs are to ethnic minorities. Funding from IMLS will support fellows’ first two years of study while participating programs will fund subsequent years of required study.
American Library Association
Log Number:
RE-03-10-0063-10
Fiscal Year:
2010
Award: $432,495.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Pre-Professional Programs
The American Library Association will launch a three-year national initiative to recruit 50 ethnically diverse high school and college students to careers in libraries by developing a stronger professional presence at local career, education, and cultural events. New professionals from ALA’s Spectrum Scholarship Program and other national diversity recruitment programs will serve as field recruiters at events such as the McNair National Research Conference, the MechA National Chicana/Chicano Leadership, powwows, and the Annual Conference of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries
Log Number:
RE-06-05-0057-05
Fiscal Year:
2005
Award: $93,106.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
The Rare Book and Manuscript Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, will support a major national conference focused on examining issues of mutual interest to special collections library and museum communities and creating greater collaboration between them. The funds will provide 30 attendance scholarships for new and aspiring professionals from both fields, including 10 from professionally underrepresented minorities, and costs of speakers from the museum community. The conference is expected to attract 250 to 275 attendees. Titled Intersecting Missions, Converging Futures: Libraries and Museums in the Twenty-First Century, the conference will bring together practicing and aspiring professionals from both fields to investigate common concerns and to explore ways in which they can work together more closely in the future to fulfill their respective roles in society. Match: $96,589
Public Library Association
Log Number:
RE-06-14-0001-14
Fiscal Year:
2014
Award: $213,682.00
City:
Chicago
Program:
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
State:
IL
Program Categories:
Continuing Education
Recipient Type:
Library
The Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association, in partnership with the International City/County Management Association, developed the PLA Leadership Academy (successfully piloted in Spring 2013), with an asset-based curriculum that educated librarians on how to build relationships with local government and other agencies. In the Navigating Change and Building Community project, PLA will refine and implement the PLA Leadership Academy, measuring the impact on participants and their libraries. The project team also will convene a meeting of leadership training providers to share evaluation results and best practices and further raise awareness and understanding of the PLA leadership model.
$149,924.00 + $239,416.00 + $486,587.00 + $499,741.00 + $581,609.00 + $249,867.00 + $249,330.00 + $33,968.00 + $99,985.00 + $99,937.00 + $99,996.00 + $99,398.00 + $50,000.00 + $25,000.00 + $243,922.00 + $305,085.00 + $50,000.00 + $498,755.00 + $407,111.00 + $358,690.00 + $590,110.00 + $106,669.00 + $45,145.00 + $250,837.00 + $291,179.00 + $50,000.00 + $928,142.00 + $872,920.00 + $886,499.00 + $432,495.00 + $93,106.00 + $213,682.00 = $9,589,105.00
NOTE ADDED 17 JUNE 2017:
The Annoyed Librarian absolutely rips into the "ALA propaganda machine" on this #SaveIMLS hoax:
Below is a transcript of a portion of her testimony, followed by how she misled Congress and what she said that was right. She should not be confirmed.
Senator Roy Blunt:
Got a couple of other questions. You know, being the President of the American Library Association is I'm sure a great honor, but maybe not an unmixed blessing because suddenly you’re responsible for everything that's being talked about as part of the Association. There a couple of, couple areas of criticism that you and I have talked about and I'd like to get your response to those on the record today. One was when the, when the Congress passed the Children's Internet Protection Act, um, the, uh, American Library Association challenged the constitutionality of that arguing that it violated, uh, the First Amendment. And I know beginning then as a leader of the national organization through really, up till now you’ve, you’ve commented on this several times, but, you wanna talk about that whole issue of, uh, what kind of violation that would have been and then the issue of what kinds of things need to happen in a library to be sure the children don't have access to material that we wouldn't want children to have access to, and then how often you have to revisit that whole concept?
Dr. Carla Hayden:
I really appreciate, um, that question, Senator, because there's been quite a bit of just misinterpretation of the Library Association’s position during that time. That was in 2003/2004, and at that time the filters that would have been required, um, for libraries to install were found to prohibit access to very important health information and the most notable at that time was breast cancer. And since that time, um, the technology has improved and the filters that are installed to receive federal funding in my, my library, The Pratt Library, and in its state role has installed filters, have improved, and the need to be vigilant is also something that libraries are doing in not only to the technological aspect but just plain physical arrangements of computers, making sure that there are face-out positioning of computer monitors, as well as very few, if any, cubicles that contain computers as well. And education and making sure that people know that pornography is illegal and we do not support that in any shape or form.
Senator Roy Blunt:
So you don’t think, you don't think that pornography, illegal, as you described it, has a place in the library?
Dr. Carla Hayden:
Not online, no.
Senator Roy Blunt:
And there are at the same time, things in lib-, in the library that aren't appropriate for everybody that visits the library to see.
Dr. Carla Hayden:
Right. And, Senator, the way you, um, described it is, is, is exactly the way that libraries even design their buildings and the furniture and making sure there’s even signage that, uh, unaccompanied adults in children sections are, um, are going to be questioned. There are so many safety measures that are put in public libraries and even college and university libraries to make sure that, um, minors are safe and that they are not exposed to, um, objectionable material, as far as we can prevent.
Senator Roy Blunt:
And while your final degree was a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, a very highly respected institution, your, a lot of your early work was as a children's librarian, a lot of early focus was that, so these are issues that you have always cared about?
Dr. Carla Hayden:
Yes, and its been, um, interesting to see how, and I mentioned earlier, with the, uh, "C" for caution with copyright, that if you pay attention in the front end that it sometimes really helps in terms of later and working with young people and seeing what imagination can be sparked. 3D printers now are in libraries and that’s the perfect time to let young people know that all of this information that you can now get on your device is not free for you to use and just, uh, put your name on it. So, I've been very involved in youth issues for quite a while.
Senator Roy Blunt:
Well I thought, I thought, uh, just the example you gave of how you early on expressed to somebody the importance of their own creative work was an indication of the way you would approach a number of these issues. On another, uh, thing from the American Library Association, when the PATRIOT Act was passed, um, librarians objected to a particular part of that and, in fact fact, the law was changed I think for what's now called the Librarian's Provision. You wanna talk about that a little bit?
Dr. Carla Hayden:
Yes, that was a, um, quite a time, that was also in 2003/2004, and the entire nation was concerned about security, and it was a time of great apprehension and people were going into libraries to find information about all of the different aspects of what was going on and the library community was just conc-, very concerned that in the quest for, um, security and making sure, uh, that we were all safe that the public's rights were also considered as well. And since that time there have been a number of reforms to the PATRIOT Act with the approval of Congress that have helped alleviate the library communities concerns and we are, and I think I can also, uh, say that the American Library Association is, um, very pleased at the progress that’s been made to balance security and personal rights.
Senator Roy Blunt:
And so would an example of that, Dr. Hayden, would an example of that be under that, uh, under that original discussion there was some thought that law enforcement might be able to come in and just say we'd like to look through your records and see who's been looking at certain books, certain, looking up certain things, or even we'd like to look at a certain person’s, uh library record, without a court saying that that was necessary, was that the concern?
Dr. Carla Hayden:
That was um the the basis of it, and especially the bulk collection of information about who was interested in a subject. What we were concerned about and especially at that time in 2003/2004, that interest in a subject would be or could be misinterpreted as intent to do something. So interest and intent were not equal, we were saying.
Senator Roy Blunt:
I think that's um, that’s a position I believe the country has generally come, come to, and I think your explanation of 2002 and 3 was also a good one that everybody’s trying to figure out what, what can we do to stop this from happening again and sometimes that requires a lengthy discussion as to the right way to do that. Any, uh, follow up questions, Senator Cochran, Senator Boozman? Well, we will, um, have the record open until the time I announced earlier for, uh, additional questions. Anything you want to add, Dr. Hayden, that you wished had been asked that wasn't, any topic, uh, you wanna cover?
Dr. Carla Hayden:
Well, I had a few. Uh, and I, I just wanted though to, to thank everyone, um, for their support and for your consideration, um, Mr. Chairman, and, um, I really appreciate this opportunity and to be nominated it as a librarian, a career, career librarian, I must tell you this one of the highest honors and I thank you for this opportunity.
Senator Roy Blunt:
Thank you. This hearing’s adjourned.
HOW DR. CARLA HAYDEN MISLED CONGRESS
Dr. Carla Hayden materially misled Congress by saying ALA is about "making sure that people know that pornography is illegal and we do not support that in any shape or form." That is false.
ALA's position is not that pornography is illegal. Rather, it is that pornography has no legal definition ("The word 'pornography' has no meaning in the law, and there is no agreed-upon definition for the term."). As James LaRue, the Director of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom wrote to me just yesterday, "you should know by now that THERE IS NO LEGAL DEFINITION OF PORNOGRAPHY." Emphasis his. It's as if US v. ALA doesn't exist.
So for Carla Hayden to say the ALA is about making sure "people know that pornography is illegal" is simply false. Had she told the truth of ALA's position, that pornography has no legal definition therefore librarians must not take action to block it, she would have portrayed ALA as the extremist organization it is with her as its former extremist leader. This is why she lied. She wants to get into the Librarian of Congress position, and from there she can force the ALA worldview on the entire nation, not just public and school libraries.
Even Senator Roy Blunt picked up on her claim ALA is concerned about "making sure that people know that pornography is illegal" as he followed up saying, "So you don’t think, you don't think that pornography, illegal, as you described it, has a place in the library?" Carla Hayden responded, "not online, no."
Libraries and librarians are not in a position to make those decisions for library users or for citizens generally. Only courts have constitutional authority to determine, in accordance with due process, what materials are obscenity, child pornography, or “harmful to minors.”
....
As for obscenity and child pornography, prosecutors and police have adequate tools to enforce criminal laws. Libraries are not a component of law enforcement efforts naturally directed toward the source, i.e., the publishers, of such material.
So, straight from ALA's "Guidelines and Considerations for Developing a Public Library Internet Use Policy," librarians are or have been trained they are in no position to decide what is child pornography.
Based on that (they are not judges) it tells them not to help the police. Still more policy (not shown above) tells them to delete public records such as browser histories precisely to thwart the police.
ALA plays a game. "Only courts have constitutional authority to determine, in accordance with due process, what materials are ... child pornography...." That is an impossible standard. Impossible. Why? Because the standard requires that a judge determine if a web site is child porn before a librarian may also determine whether it is child porn by following the judge's lead. Sounds good, right? It's not. There are hundreds of thousands of child porn web sites. There would have to be hundreds of thousands of completed cases to find them to be child porn. That is an impossible standard. It will never happen. In the infinitely impossible chance that it would, perhaps via class action or mass tort liability, by that time another hundred thousand sites would replace those.
It is just ridiculous to demand that a librarian may only determine what is a child porn site if a court first makes that decision. Yet Carla Hayden says ALA is about "making sure that people know that pornography is illegal and we do not support that in any shape or form." That is false and it is knowingly false given has was ALA's former leader and her statements were intended to mislead Congress about ALA so her nomination would be confirmed. Then she would be in a position to apply ALA's extremist child pornography views to the nation as a whole.
To exemplify the seriousness of the matter, libraries are following ALA's guidance and covering up instances of child pornography. One such library did that in Illinois. Here is its legal council advising the library not to report child porn viewing and instead protect the patron privacy of the child porn viewers:
Were Carla Hayden to have told Congress the truth, she would have said ALA advises librarians not to report child pornography, not to help the police, and protect the patron privacy rights of the child porn viewers. Had she said that, the nation would have had an eye opening and shocking moment of truth, and she would never be confirmed for Librarian of Congress. Instead, she lied, saying ALA wants to "mak[e] sure that people know that pornography is illegal and we do not support that in any shape or form."
So Carla Hayden successfully lied about ALA, saying what the public believes but not what she knows is happening since she once led the effort to mislead the public as ALA's president, thereby accomplishing two goals. She ensured people will stay ignorant of the harm caused by the extremist ALA, and she is setting herself up to be confirmed as Librarian of Congress where she will spread ALA's pro-child porn policy nationwide and no one will lift a finger to stop her.
Later she says, "There are so many safety measures that are put in public libraries and even college and university libraries to make sure that, um, minors are safe and that they are not exposed to, um, objectionable material, as far as we can prevent." As explained above and supported with sources from ALA itself, that is just false. ALA has no concern in the slightest for the safety of minors. After ALA ensured a library in Illinois retained Playboy magazine despite an unanimous government asking the library to stop buying the magazine since it was making it available to children, ALA's de facto leader Judith Krug told the Chicago Tribune, "I get very concerned when we start hearing people who want to convert this country into a safe place for children."
That's the true ALA. Not the false picture Carla Hayden portrayed to make ALA look good and to mislead Congress into confirming her nomination for Librarian of Congress.
And libraries are true to ALA. One library in New Jersey had a complaint from a mother about her eleven-year-old boy seeing hardcore pornography in the children's section of the library. The library reacted by blaming the boy and holding secret meetings in violation of state sunshine laws to insert ALA's pro child-porn policies into its own policy to ensure children could continue to access pornography on the computers in the children' section. The library even destroyed public records in violation of yet another law to thwart the application of more state sunshine laws. And the policy changes it made in secret where the exact recommendations of ALA, almost word for word. I filed suit against this library, the case is still open, and the children still get access to hardcore porn in the children's section.
So when Carla Hayden says, "There are so many safety measures that are put in public libraries and even college and university libraries to make sure that, um, minors are safe and that they are not exposed to, um, objectionable material, as far as we can prevent," that is knowingly and purposefully false.
Again, had she said the truth, that ALA regards minors exactly as adults and allows them to access Internet pornography despite state laws that instantiate libraries preventing that, and despite the US Supreme Court and common sense, she would have shocked the nation and would never be confirmed.
WHAT DR. CARLA HAYDEN GOT RIGHT
Dr. Carla Hayden did get some things absolutely correct and in that regard she was honest. However, she knows ALA's position is the exact opposite, knows she would look extremist if she stated ALA's true position, and she would never be confirmed as no one wants a Librarian of Congress who intentionally and secretively lowers the barriers between children and inappropriate material.
So Carla Hayden said, "right," when asked if "there are ... things ... in the library that aren't appropriate for everybody that visits the library to see." Were she truthful, she would have expressed her adherence to the "Library Bill of Rights" and said librarians only provide material, they do not make age distinctions.
Here's what Dr. Hayden got right::
That was in 2003/2004, and at that time the filters that would have been required, um, for libraries to install were found to prohibit access to very important health information and the most notable at that time was breast cancer. And since that time, um, the technology has improved and the filters that are installed to receive federal funding in my, my library, The Pratt Library, and in its state role has installed filters, have improved....
That's right! Internet filters have greatly improved in a dozen years. They no longer block breast cancer research, for example. Carla Hayden is right to say that.
But she is misleading in that she does not reveal ALA tells people the opposite, that filters do not work, and that libraries should not use them.
Here again is that Illinois library mentioned above telling the public that filters block breast cancer:
And that statement was afterALA was forced to admit filters no longer block breast cancer research: "Ross Reynolds (9:05): Back to you, uh, Barbara Jones, uh, Dean [Marney who won state and federal library filtering cases] says he's got filtering software there that just works perfectly. Barbara Jones (9:12): Um, I would like to say that, yeah, the breast cancer example probably is kinda old these days…."
And ALA will not change its position on Internet filters even after Carla Hayden said the "technology has improved" and library filters no longer "prohibit access to very important health information [including] breast cancer."
What Carla Hayden said was just for public consumption; it will have no effect on ALA and Dr. Hayden knows that but chose to mislead Congress anyway.
CONCLUSION: SHE WOULD NOT BE CONFIRMED HAD SHE TOLD THE TRUTH
Carla Hayden made materially false statements to Congress to make her ALA look mainstream and herself look like a reasonable choice for Librarian of Congress as a result. She should not be confirmed. She would not be confirmed had she told the truth.
She made statements about Internet filtering and about concern for child safety that are truthful but that go directly counter to the misinformation ALA currently uses to mislead communities into facilitating child pornography nationwide. Those statements should be used to counteract ALA's ability to mislead communities, to shine light on what libraries are supposed to be, not what they have become under ALA's worldview.
But Carla Hayden chose to mislead Congress as she did. She should not be confirmed. Another nominee should be found, one who is honest and who is not looking at the Librarian of Congress position as a means to further spread the extremist, pro-child porn policies of the American Library Association.
As I noted in the story above, ALA changed its child porn facilitation policy online to no longer tell librarians they are not judges so they should ignore child pornography viewing. I believe this was done as a result of my conversation with ALA's OIF leader just days ago who continued to defend the policy to me. It could also be the result of pressure from other child porn whistleblowers, or a combination thereof.
I BELIEVE THIS WAS DONE TO SUPPORT THE CONFIRMATION OF CARLA HAYDEN. I BELIEVE ALA IS HIDING ITS DECADES-LONG CHILD PORN FACILITATION POLICIES AND WILL RESTORE THEM AFTER CARLA HAYDEN IS CONFIRMED. I BELIEVE CARLA HAYDEN HAS EVERY INTENTION OF MAINTAINING THE CHILD PORN FACILITATION POLICY, ONLY SHE WILL APPLY IT TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND ANYTHING ELSE OVER WHICH SHE CAN CONVINCE PEOPLE SHE HAS POWER TO CONTROL.
As I am obviously the leading critic of the confirmation of Carla Hayden, ALA has an interest in making people ignore what I say. I have been talking about ALA's child porn facilitation for a long time, even right here in this post. ALA has quietly changed the online policy to remove the offending language WHILE LEAVING IN THE OLD DATE OF LAST CHANGE so when people see the policy does not say what I said it says, and they see the old date of last change, they will disbelieve me.
And here is the effect of that effort to mislead the public about what I am saying about Carla Hayden right here in a story about me on Wonkette since the guy looks for what I quoted and instead finds the new, days-old ALA language, then I'm mocked -- and I cannot respond here as Wonkette blocked me from responding:
CONCLUSION: ALA MAY HAVE WITHIN THE PAST FEW DAYS GIVEN THE APPEARANCE OF ENDING ITS CHILD PORN FACILITATION, BUT THAT AFFECTS THE CARLA HAYDEN CONFIRMATION IN NO WAY WHATSOEVER. WHILE CARLA HAYDEN WAS ALA PRESIDENT RIGHT UP UNTIL HER NOMINATION BY PRESIDENT OBAMA, ALA HAS ALWAYS FACILITATED CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN LIBRARIES NATIONWIDE AND CARLA HAYDEN CHAMPIONED THOSE POLICES AS ALA's PRESIDENT.
The American Library Association [ALA] provides libraries with a model Internet Use Policy that facilitates child pornography viewing by advising librarians only judges can determine what is child pornography, not librarians, so do not help the police [EN 1]. ALA advice is followed by law firms that advise libraries not to report child pornography viewers to the police because that would violate the child porn viewers right to privacy [EN 2]. Law enforcement entities have noted ALA policy essentially aids and abets child porn crimes in public libraries [EN 3].
Many libraries follow ALA advice and, among other things, essentially end up defrauding the E-rate program that is funded by the "Universal Service Charge" that appears on all our telephone and Internet bills [EN 4].
A New Jersey library even set policy, following ALA guidance, ensuring children in the children's section of the library retain unfiltered access to the Internet despite an 11 year old boy viewing porn there [EN 5].
An Illinois library caught covering up child porn crimes was awarded for passing an ALA-like policy protecting child pornography viewing where the policy was passed during the Lincoln's Birthday holiday, a move ruled illegal by the Illinois Attorney General. But that didn't stop ALA's wish to hold the library's policy up as a model for other libraries. Hence, the library was literally awarded for breaking the law to facilitate child pornography viewing on the Internet [EN 6].
Not All Libraries Follow ALA's Child Porn Facilitation Advice
Fortunately, not all libraries follow ALA's advice to allow child porn viewing. One Massachusetts library decided to preserve the evidence and call the police on a child porn viewer despite ALA procedures in place to hide the crime [EN 7]. Libraries that preserve evidence and help police apprehend child porn criminals never receive ALA awards of any kind; they do not even get covered in library media like Library Journal or ALA's own American Libraries.
Timberland Regional Library Is the Latest to Facilitate Child Porn
Unfortunately, the latest such library to be caught facilitating child pornography and breaking the law is the Timberland Regional Library, Tumwater, WA:
A Winlock man was arrested Tuesday after an FBI investigation revealed that he was allegedly using a social networking site and public library Internet service to send and receive child pornography. .... Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt ordered Schnacker held on $100,000 bail. "This is clearly a community safety issue," he said.
Hunt said he was particularly concerned about the allegation that Schnacker had used public Wi-Fi to access the images. .... Further investigation showed that Schnacker accessed his Kik account from an IP address assigned to the Timberland Regional Library. ....
So the library's Wi-Fi was used for child porn trafficking.
Library Partly Responsible for Child Porn Trafficking; Defrauds CIPA
Turns out the library may be partly responsible. Why? It follows ALA guidelines that facilitate child porn and defrauds the E-rate program as a result. The library is literally breaking the law to facilitate access to child pornography.
Here's the proof. To collect E-rate funding for "Internet Access" under the Children's Internet Protection Act [CIPA], libraries must follow certain procedures to block images of Internet pornography, for example, requiring patrons to ask for Internet filters to be disabled if needed [EN 8]. In violation of that law, the library policy advises that the library "allows adults to turn off filters without staff intervention. [EN 9]" That violates CIPA. Yet the library still obtained E-rate funding for "Internet Access" in violation of the law. Someone had to certify that the library was in compliance with the law when it is clearly stated in policy that it cannot not be. In 2013, the library obtained $14,616 in E-rate funds for "Internet Access" in violation of the law [EN 10]. Same for $12,600 in 2014 and $29,400 in 2015. That totals $56,616 in fraud.
Is it fair to send a man to jail for using an attractive nuisance created by the library in breaking the law and not stopped by the municipality that failed to stop the library from breaking the law? If he goes to jail, is it fair that the library gets away with it and continues to violate the law, facilitate child pornography crimes, and defraud the federal government while doing so? Will sending him to jail stop this from happening again in a case such as this where the library facilitates a crime and the municipality lets it go on?
Today is Christmas
Today is Christmas. It is a day libraries are closed nationwide. On the few days libraries are closed nationwide, those are the few days libraries are not facilitating child pornography by following ALA guidance.
This Timberland Regional Library matter reported yesterday is just the latest instance. Had the library followed the law [EN 11] instead of ALA guidance [EN 1], chances are the trafficking of child pornography might never have happened in the first place. In other words, defense attorneys ought to consider whether 1) public libraries following ALA guidelines, 2) the municipalities that let them get away with lawlessness [EN 11], and 3) perhaps ALA itself are partially at fault.
The Law Should Hold Sway In a Public Library, Not ALA Guidance
The moment people realize the law should hold sway in a public library, not ALA guidance, that's the day ALA loses its ability to facilitate child pornography in public libraries nationwide.
Libraries and librarians are not in a position to make those decisions for library users or for citizens generally. Only courts have constitutional authority to determine, in accordance with due process, what materials are obscenity, child pornography, or “harmful to minors.” .... As for obscenity and child pornography, prosecutors and police have adequate tools to enforce criminal laws. Libraries are not a component of law enforcement efforts naturally directed toward the source, i.e., the publishers, of such material.
Accordingly, even if the library employs a computer technician who could demonstrate that the patron was viewing child pornography on the computer, this is not a reportable criminal offense, the library's computer technician is not under any statutory reporting obligation, and the Library's Records Confidentiality Act may be violated if such a report is made.
3. In July 2007 a Colorado Internet crimes against children investigator reported that Denver Public Libraries destroy data after each patron logs off of the libraries computers. Investigators are unable to obtain any information about library computer users. In the past year, three child pornography cases have been unresolved due to lack of information. Arizona investigators report the same situation at Phoenix Public Libraries. Child pornography incidents that have been traced to public libraries are often unresolved because libraries do not enable simple logging features that retain basic information about computer users.
Frank Kardasz, retired commander of the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said his task force worked dozens of cases involving people viewing or trafficking child pornography while using public and college library computers.
The problem is tough to police because of the imperfect nature of Internet filtering devices and pushback from free-speech advocates who believe adults should have the right to view adult pornography in libraries, he said, adding that any place offering wireless Internet connections "is an opportunity for child pornography offenders to traffic contraband images."
"My experience is that some, not all, libraries underreport the offenses because they do not wish to bring attention nor police involvement to their facility," said Kardasz, founder and director of the Phoenix-based Cyberspace Child Protection Campaign. "Also, because many offenders are nefarious enough to avoid apprehension, there are probably more offenses occurring than we are aware of."
The Special Ad-Hoc Committee to Examine the use of Filtering Computers in the Children's Section of the Westfield Memorial Library recommends no additional changes at this time. The committee further recommends that if additional Internet accessible computers are added to the Children's Section that a 50% ratio of filtered and non-filtered computers be maintained.
[EN 10] "Search Commitments," by Schools and Libraries (E-rate), Universal Service Administrative Company, undated.
[EN 11] Existing state laws have language in place the precludes porn in public libraries. ALA never, ever reports this as it would completely and instantly destroy its ability to facilitate child pornography in public libraries. For example, in Washington, the home state of the Timberland Regional Library that facilitates child porn trafficking as seen in The Chronicle story, RCW 27.12.210 states that library boards of trustees may only do "acts necessary for the orderly and efficient management and control of the library." According to the US Supreme Court case US v. ALA [EN 8], pornography has traditionally been blocked from public libraries. So pornography is obviously not "necessary for the orderly and efficient management and control of the library." The municipality should act to force the library to comply with the law and can do so without piercing the library's veil of autonomy to act within the law. To the extent municipalities fail to stop ultra vires actions of libraries such as by facilitating child pornography in violation of the law, municipalities may and should become a target for defense attorneys in addition to libraries.
