Public awareness of crime, sexual harassment in libraries, and inappropriate books and web sites in schools due to American Library Association policy. ⚖️
Ensuring Children’s Safe Use of Screens and E-Rate-Funded Services
Modernizing the E-Rate Program for Schools and Libraries
Establishing the Emergency Connectivity Fund to Close the Homework Gap
Promoting Fair and Open Competitive Bidding in the E-Rate Program
WC Docket No. 26-133
WC Docket No. 13-184
WC Docket No. 21-93
WC Docket No. 21-455
Comments of Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries® brand library educational services
I respectfully submit these comments regarding the Commission’s top-to-bottom review of the E-Rate program. I am Dan Kleinman, owner of SafeLibraries® brand library educational services, that focuses on library policies, compliance with federal requirements such as the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), and transparency in the use of public funds. I previously filed detailed comments in WC Docket No. 13-184 (September 16, 2013) documenting concerns about E-Rate program integrity and CIPA compliance; those comments remain available at https://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2013/09/FCC.html.
E-Rate Has Outlived Its Original Purpose
The E-Rate program was established under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, at a time when Internet access (often capitalized to reflect its novelty) was expensive, limited, and unavailable to most schools and libraries. The program successfully helped close that gap. Today, however, high-speed broadband is widely available at relatively low cost through competitive private markets, widespread home and mobile adoption, and other public and private initiatives. The dramatic change in circumstances is evident even in language: what was once a specialized "Internet" service is now ordinary "internet" infrastructure; even the capitalization has changed.
In this environment, a dedicated federal subsidy program for basic connectivity in schools and libraries is no longer necessary for most communities. Continuing the program at current levels risks subsidizing services the market now provides efficiently, potentially distorting competition and creating ongoing administrative costs without commensurate public benefit.
Program Integrity, CIPA Compliance, and the Role of the American Library Association
E-Rate funding has long been conditioned on compliance with CIPA, which requires libraries and schools to implement technology protection measures to block obscene material, child p*rnography, and material harmful to minors. Despite these requirements, significant compliance issues have persisted. My 2013 filing documented multiple examples of libraries receiving E-Rate funds while maintaining policies or practices that undermined CIPA protections—such as easily bypassed filters, patron self-unblocking systems, and ALA-influenced guidance that treated filtering as optional or constitutionally suspect. These practices effectively allowed federal funds to flow to institutions that did not fully meet the statutory conditions.
The American Library Association (ALA) has historically provided policy guidance and training to libraries that, in practice, facilitated non-compliance or minimized CIPA’s requirements. With connectivity costs largely covered by E-Rate, libraries have greater flexibility to direct local resources and staff time toward other priorities.
Current Advocacy and Use of Funds
The ALA is currently conducting a coordinated national campaign titled "Save Our E-Rate," that urges libraries, schools, and the public to file comments and contact Congress in support of preserving the program. While advocacy is legitimate, the campaign appears designed to maintain the existing funding stream and even characterizes FCC's current actions as "overreach." Critics reasonably question whether these funds indirectly support the ALA’s broader institutional priorities rather than strictly educational connectivity.
Dr. James Lindsay has analyzed these programs in detail in "Groomer Schools 4: Drag Queen Story Hour," available at https://newdiscourses.com/2022/06/groomer-schools-4-drag-queen-story-hour/, describing them as vehicles for introducing queer theory and gender ideology to young children under the guise of storytelling and inclusion. Many families view such events as ideological rather than educational. As Dr. Lindsay points out, that's the very purpose of such events. He cites to the writings of Lil Miss Hot Mess, "a performer and board member for Drag Queen Story Hour, and the author of the children’s book The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish (Running Press Kids, 2020)."See "Drag Pedagogy: The Playful Practice of Queer Imagination in Early Childhood," in the journal Curriculum Inquiry here: https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.2020.1864621. "Through this programme, drag artists have channelled their penchant for playfully '"reading" each other to filth' [footnote omitted] into different forms of literacy, promoting storytelling as integral to queer and trans communities, as well as positioning queer and trans cultural forms as valuable components of early childhood education" "We’re reading books while we read each other’s looks, and we’re leaving a trail of glitter that won’t ever come out of the carpet."
Similarly, initiatives such as "Books Unbanned" (promoted in alignment with ALA principles) provide teens nationwide with digital access to books that local school boards and libraries have removed or restricted—often titles containing explicit s*xual content, profanity, or contested gender and s*xuality themes. While framed as defending intellectual freedom, these programs effectively create a national distribution channel that can bypass local community standards and parental oversight.
Recommendation
The E-Rate program has served its historic purpose. Given the maturity of the broadband market, persistent questions about program integrity and CIPA enforcement, and the diversion of attention and resources toward controversial, non-educational programming, I respectfully urge the Commission to phase out or substantially narrow E-Rate support for libraries. If any funding continues, it should be strictly limited to truly unserved or underserved areas, subject to rigorous independent auditing, verifiable CIPA compliance (with librarian-controlled filtering and transparent enforcement), and clear demonstration that funds support core educational objectives rather than subsidizing ideological or age-inappropriate content.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment and for the Commission’s attention to these important issues of child protection, fiscal responsibility, and program effectiveness.
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:
I feel sorry for the librarians and library employees. Read the 2012 (link), 2013 (link), and 2014 (link) incident reports from the above story. It is absolutely atrocious what librarians have to go through, including, for example, frightening sexual harassment from porn-viewing patrons:
A librarian in September, 2014, reported a regular patron had made comments about her hair and tried to touch her. The following month, he made more comments to her. This time it was about being the head of her fan club.
"He keep yelling 69, 69, 69 at me because his birthday is 1969, but he was referencing the sexual act," the female librarian said in her report. "After using the computer he wouldn't leave and kept asking for my number and saying he will miss me."
And notice the library lets the vast majority of those sex criminals including masturbators get off, as my criminal law professor joked, with essentially a slap on the wrist. See the excerpt below, for example. What's with that?
Notice how the library defends itself. After about 1,000 crimes per year for years, a reporter asks for public records of the crimes, and immediately the library director responds. Not before, mind you, only when caught. The excuse is the library has acceptable use policies in place. "We have a code of conduct and policies that we follow as best as we can," said the director.
Policing computer usage in libraries also has become a regular duty for librarians, [head of security for the library system] Mr. Sabo said.
Looking at pornography on a library computer can result in a one-week ban, while engaging in sexual activity could mean a one-year ban. In March, a man at the downtown library was eligible to be slapped with both violations for masturbating at a computer station.
"A couple of minutes into my observations, I noticed [the man] watching a video of a partially clothed female being raped by a male with a gun," a report said, and the man began masturbating through his pants. He ultimately apologized, acknowledged he should not have done that in a public place, and left quietly.
When a patron is found viewing pornography, he or she usually leaves the building quietly.
But on June 28, a man viewing pornography at the downtown library refused to leave when confronted by library security.
"When I told him he has to leave he stood up and walked within inches of me, threatening, 'If he ever sees me on the street he will put me down' and that 'He doesn’t care what badge I have or if we call the police.' " He was eventually escorted out by two security guards.
After a patron is banned, returning to the library can get him or her slapped with a criminal trespassing charge. The libraries deal with a lot of repeat offenders.
Do you see anything wrong with that? I don't. That tweet, however, prompted the following response (to another tweet, shown in context at bottom) from the university librarian and ALA member:
.@SafeLibraries Your malicious harassment of #TeamHarpy has lost any & all possible support for your causes. Try not being evil.
— Nicholas Schiller (@nnschiller) January 6, 2015
Who cares about the victims I am trying to help, right?
Some librarians will say and do absolutely anything to perpetuate the facilitation of child pornography in America's libraries and the massive harm caused by so many public libraries being used to consume child pornography and pornography, both against the law in public libraries, both harming sex trafficked victims and the rights and lives stolen away from them (link).
So long as I'm one of the few reporting on these issues, since mainstream library media will not touch it seriously, I'll continue to use "bad behavior" to report on and publicize the matter.
If the "free speech" librarians cannot stand my occasional use of a Twitter hashtag, that's their problem, not mine. Unbelievable that my using a hashtag is "malicious harassment" but facilitating child porn in public libraries isn't and my saying so must be squelched with broadcast ridicule. By librarians, of all people.
