Library WiFi Ended by P-rn Fine in West Bend Community Memorial Library; Acceptable Use Policies are Absolute Failures

Boots & Sabers exposes
p-rn/fines shut down
WiFi at WBCML.

A library has shut its WiFi service as a result of downloaded p-rn and copyrighted material and the federal fine that resulted.  Remarkably, this is the West Bend Community Memorial Library, West Bend, WI, [WBCML] that vigorously defended p-rnography in the past and opposed using Internet filtering, choosing instead to follow the guidance of the American Library Association [ALA].

This is the very ALA that effectively controls a third of American libraries, according to the author of the Children's Internet Protection Act.  This is the same ALA that made personal appearances in West Bend to sway the public.  This is the same ALA that made factually false statements to emotionally shape people into refusing to use legal means to protect community members.  The University of Wisconsin-Madison joined in that propaganda effort.  This is the same ALA that attacked everyone who sought to apply legal means to control p-rn in the WBCML or who sought to assist them, like myself.  This is the same ALA that quietly, without public statement, granted $1,000.00 to one community member to sway the events that occurred in that community; that's called astroturfing.

At least one community member recognized the problem and stood up to try to do something about it.  As a result of her work the local government refused to reappoint a number of library trustees.  The board president herself was removed as well.

That said, the ALA propaganda was effective on the library board as constituted at the time, so the community remained exposed to harm it would have been legal to control.  And here we are today, with p-rnography flowing over the library's WiFi system so much that the federal government fined the library:

• "Update on WB Library Wireless," by Owen Robinson, Boots & Sabers, 29 August 2012.

Remarkable, especially given this WBCML library's history of defending its anything-goes policy:

Due to illegal downloads and fines,
the West Bend Library is eliminating wireless access
to all laptops and mobile devices.
When a practical solution can be implemented
we will resume wireless service.

Our other 13 internet stations are still available for use with your library card [sic]

Source:  "No Wireless," by Unnamed, West Bend Community Memorial Library, 28 August 2012.

Will the community finally jettison the harm done by the ALA?  Maybe the WiFi fine will provide some motivation.  I call upon the library to publicize the letter advising the WBCML of the federal fine.

"Acceptable Use" Policies are Absolute Failures

By the way, this matter illustrates once again the absolute failure of library "acceptable use" policies.  WBCML had a "Wireless Internet Access" policy: "Users are expected to comply with the Library Acceptable Internet Use Policy."  Did that work?  No, and that's why the library got fined.  You see, the ALA advises libraries to use acceptable use policies and not Internet filters.  Given the ALA's heavy involvement in this community and quiet grants, perhaps the ALA should pay the fine.

"The Library is not responsible for the content of websites or email accessed through the Library network."  Given the federal fines, that statement is patently false.  As are many of the library's other policy statements.

If your library is relying on policies instead of filters to control illegal activity, your community may be next up for a federal fine.  You don't have to sit back and let that happen.  Contact me or Safe Schools, Safe Libraries Project if you would like assistance in restoring local control to your public library.


NOTE ADDED 30 AUGUST 2012:

Two additions of note.  First, a comment on the Boots & Sabers blog from one of the library's trustees in response to the blog and quoting another comment.  Second, an email to a radio personality from the person who raised the alarm many years ago.

---

Comment by WBCML Board of Trustee Member Matt Stevens:

According to the Daily News, it is a p-rno production company claiming $200 x 2 for because someone downloaded two copyrighted p-rnos.  Also claiming there could be more to pay for legal expenses, etc.  I hope the library ignores this - I suspect the p-rno company is used to getting their payments because the downloader doesn’t want anyone to know it.  Kind of like a form of legal blackmail.  Anyway, the library should just blow it off & see what happens.

We are paying the fine per recommendation of the city attorney.  My understanding is that charter verified the download took place.  The addition of the webfilter is two-fold.  Stop most users from doing anything illegal, and give us logging capabilities so we can verify something took place should this come up again (and depending on the filter, possibly give us the ability to identify the offender).

Article also notes that Library Board member Matt Stevens will donate his services to help set up the web device that will reduce the chances of this happening, so that this outage of access will not be unnecessarily longer than it needs to be.  A big shout-out for that!

Thank you.  The library is important to me, which is why I'm on the board in the first place.  I think the library could find volunteers for other various needs as I know there are many who care about the library too.

In addition, we also were able to almost 0 balance our budget last night thanks to the fantastic work of Sue and her staff.  They worked hard, came up with ideas, and we approved a plan that will balance the FY2013 budget save maybe a few thousand dollars, which will come out of the reserve fund.  That's far better than the $60,000+ deficit we started with.  I'm guessing another article in the daily news this week will cover the details, but we were able to make the adjustments without cutting services or eliminating any positions.  We did increase the late fees slightly, the copy fees slightly, etc as well, but the fees are all still very low and in-line with other libraries in the area.

Posted by Matt Stevens on August 30, 2012 at 0821 hrs

---

Comment by Ginny Maziarka of West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries:

They're at it again.  The West Bend Library has been busted for illegal p-rn downloads on their WiFi.

This is exactly what West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries predicted, and fought against.  Why did we lose?  Because bully outsiders, people who don't live in our community and by our community standards, came to West Bend and shouted down the local parents and taxpayers to get their way.  People like the wealthy, uber-liberal American Library Association, Wisconsin Library Association, Office of Informational Freedom and, of course, the biggest crybaby bully of them all, the ACLU.

Now we have perverts using our taxpayer-funded WiFi to download p-rn in West Bend.  Nice.  Guess what?  They're looking at it on the hardwired taxpayer-funded computers, too.  How do we know?  Because we filed an ORR three years ago and have copies of police reports and complaints.  No surprise here, though.  This is the now the standard, the norm, instead of a rare occurrence.  These stories are in the paper all the time across the nation because goons like the ACLU and the ALA insist that folks like us shouldn't get to say what we will and will not pay for, and put up with, in our local communities in the glorified name of censorship.

Three years ago the citizens of West Bend said NO.

We asked for filters on the computers in our library - the library board said "no."

We asked for gay kiddie p-rn to be removed from the young adult section of the library - the library board said "no."  To this day we still have the same young adult librarian, Kristin Pekoll, pushing the same garbage onto our shelves.

I've included an article (with the link) below for you that was written by Dan Kleinman of SafeLibraries, a national organization that exposes the American Library Association for what it is - a p-rn-pushing, liberal,  immoral, George Soros buddy of an institution that intimidates and censors small-town folks.

The West Bend Library now has a new board headed by Chris Jenkins, a supposed conservative in the area.  Wonder if he'll take the initiative to push the board towards investigating what goes on at the hard-wired computers?  Wonder if he'll take another look at the crap that's being shoved down our kids' throats in the Young Adult section.  Better yet, wonder if he'll size up Kristin Pekoll and take note that she wants nothing more than to indoctrinate our kids with gay p-rn through the back door of our (cough, cough) "family-friendly" library.  I wonder....

West Bend is better than this, and it is a sad reflection on the morals and values of the folks who live here.  But don't let it be said that we didn't try.  We did.  But they came, they bullied, and they won.

Ginny Maziarka
West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries

LINK TO SAFELIBRARIES ARTICLE:  http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2012/08/LibraryWifiEnded.html

Article in entirety below:
....

---

NOTE ADDED 31 AUGUST 2012:

In a big win for the community and a restoration of local control after the ALA debacle three years ago, the library will now install web filters:

• "Library to Install Web Filter; $3K Will Cover Wi-Fi Protection, Fines from Illegal Downloads," by Dave Rank, West Bend Daily News, 30 August 2012, p.A1:

  The West Bend Community Memorial Library will spend up to $3,000 to install a Web filter to prevent illegal downloads off of its free wireless Wi-Fi service and the ensuing fines for copyright infringement the library must pay.

The filter is to stop "illegal" downloads.  I see no mention of legally stopping legal p-rn.  Could this be a problem waiting to happen, or will the library legally block legal p-rn as well?  For those who did not know, the following may be useful:

• "Library P-rn Removal Roadmap; NCRL Director Dean Marney Details How to Legally Remove Legal P-rn from Public Library Computers and Advises that the ALA Relies on Outdated Dogma," by Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries, 15 November 2010.

NOTE ADDED 29 MARCH 2023:

Text updated to add a hyphen into the p word to bypass the censors.

Follow @SafeLibraries

Ginny v. Maria: Hijacked Library or Safe Library in West Bend, WI

Ginny v. Maria.  Is their local public library hijacked or is it safe?  We report and add hyperlinks, you decide and add comments below.

• "Guest View: Timeline Outlines Hijacking of Library," by Ginny Maziarka, West Bend Daily News, 19 August 2010, p.A6, reprinted below for educational purposes.

• "Guest View: Libraries Remain Free, Safe Places for Families," by Maria Hanrahan, West Bend Daily News, 26 August 2010, p.A6, reprinted below for educational purposes.

Ginny Maziarka:

"Timeline Outlines Hijacking of Library"

Logo of
Eagle Forum of Wisconsin/Washington County
for which Ginny Maziarka is
President.

Over one year past the efforts of West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries to work with the West Bend Library, Young Adult librarian Kristin Pekoll, and Director Michael Tyree, let's re-visit the outcome: Children are exposed to sexually explicit materials in the young adult section of West Bend’s Community Memorial Library, and this won't be changing any time soon.

During last year's battle with our Library Board and the American Library Association (ALA), more than 1,500 citizens had voiced their concerns, requesting easy identification of such materials and appropriate placement in the adult section of our library; a request was made to place porn filtering software on our public computers.  This common sense approach to assisting parents was rejected; these requests were met with a resounding "no."

Our library board caved to the pressures of a national organization instead of meeting the requests of the community they serve.  The ALA went on to use West Bend as an example of its power over the people with a special invitation to our librarians and board members to share this victory at an annual conference.

In what appears to be a continued assertion of authority, the ALA gave $1,000 to Maria Hanrahan, founder of West Bend Parents for Free Speech, to help in the "fight."  What, in my opinion, appeared to be a bribe could very well be what sealed the deal and motivated others to gravitate toward the ALA.

Those who value our library, contribute to, support and regularly use the library should ponder this quote from a California group opposing Proposition 81 in 2006:  "The values espoused by the American Library Association are so divorced from the values of our community that we would seriously consider ... going back to the days of a city library under local control, rather than giving one thin dime to an institution controlled by an organization that believes in 'all materials for all patrons regardless of age.'"

West Bend would do well to take heed of the above verbiage and consider what has become of our fine library under the auspices of the ALA.

West Bend parents/taxpayers should take the time to educate themselves on what took place behind the scenes during the controversy by visiting http://westbend.pbworks.com/.  This same timeline is also entered into the archives at the Wisconsin Historical Library and is an extensive effort that has taken over a year to build.  It is filled with numerous emails and other forms of communication that have never been seen publicly, which will reveal the efforts of our library board members and librarians to raise their fist at the parents of West Bend.  The correspondence on this timeline includes conversations from city leadership such as Mayor Deiss, attorney Mary Schanning, attorney Warren Kraft, Nick Dobberstein, Barb Deters and more.

Most importantly, this timeline will also confirm the covert involvement of national organizations to oppress small communities, undermine community standards and push the liberal agenda of the American Library Association.

If you didn't believe it before, you'll believe it now.  West Bend's public library has been hijacked.  It is no longer a safe place for your children.  Families beware.  Take action to protect your children and the conservative values of the city you call home.

Ginny Maziarka is a local blogger, town of West Bend resident and president of Eagle Forum of WI/Washington County, formerly West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries.

Maria Hanrahan:

"Libraries Remain Free, Safe Places for Families"

Logo of
Friends of the West Bend Library
for which Maria Hanrahan is
Co-President. See update below.

In her recent Guestview in the Daily News, Ginny Maziarka suggests "covert" activities concerning the anti-censorship response to her March 2009 book challenge.  In case anyone is unclear about the details of the book challenge, Maziarka objected to lists of novels with homosexual characters and situations in the young adult section at West Bend Community Memorial Library.  Over time, she rephrased her complaint to concern material she believed was sexually explicit or inappropriate for the age group.  While she first called to ban or remove books, she later called for moving the books to the adult section of the library and labeling them as explicit.

Maziarka suggests that I was influenced by a "bribe," since the group that I formed to oppose her library complaint, West Bend Parents for Free Speech, was designated as the recipient of a grant from the Freedom to Read Foundation.  What she failed to disclose regarding this startling bombshell was the timing of this grant.  I began my involvement in the library challenge in late March of 2009, was notified of the grant about a week into May, and the public Library Board meeting in which Maziarka's complaint was addressed was held on June 2.  If you do the math, you’ll note that this would have given my group maybe three weeks to go hog wild with our $1,000 "payoff."  In actuality, WBPFFS supporters used their own resources to pay for expenses incurred during the challenge.  Unlike Maziarka's group, West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries or their supporters, we did not choose to participate in paid newspaper or radio advertising to promote our viewpoint.  Other than a reimbursement request for approximately $180 for the cost of an open records request made by another WBPFFS member, we did not utilize the FTRF grant.  This ORR concerned email and other communication to and from members of the Common Council regarding the library controversy and the pending appointments of replacement members to the Library Board.

I became involved in the library challenge because I am committed to the belief that, as a parent, I have the right to decide what reading material is appropriate for me and for my children.  To suggest that I did it for remuneration or that I am a tool of the ALA is as preposterous as it is insulting.  Maziarka suggests that the Library Board did not work in the best interest of families by way of their unanimous vote to keep the young adult materials unlabeled and where they are.  In fact, parents retain the power they have always had:  to determine if and when their children should have library cards, to decide how, when and with how much supervision those library cards should be used, and to provide guidance and ground rules for what materials are acceptable in their households.

Maziarka says the library has been "hijacked" by the ALA, as if it is a subversive organization bent on taking power away from library patrons.  In fact, the American Library Association has always protected the rights of library patrons, including the Freedom to Read.  The FTRF was established to promote and defend freedom of expression and the right to read and listen to the ideas of others.  I believe that reading is among our greatest freedoms, and will continue to be vocal and vigilant about protecting that freedom.  I appreciate the work of the Freedom to Read Foundation, which helps to protect my right to read freely.  I hope Maziarka appreciates that this "hijacking" group works every day to protect her right to read freely as well.

Maria Hanrahan is a resident of the city of West Bend, founder of West Bend Parents for Free Speech and co-president of Friends of the West Bend Library.

UPDATE 1 SEP 2010:  Neither the Friends of the West Bend Library nor its logo is not connected in any way to SafeLibraries or to me, Dan Kleinman.  To the best of my knowledge, it is not connected in any way to Eagle Forum of WI/Washington County or to Ginny Maziarka.

UPDATE 24 MAR 2019:  Fix hyperlinks.

Library Protest Parade Float Pictures; July 4th in West Bend, Wisconsin

Four pictures of a library protest float at the July 4th parade in West Bend, Wisconsin, are worth a thousand words. So I'll just show the pictures and let you fill in the narrative. The float was prepared by "West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries."





The pictures come from "A Few More Float Pics From the 4th of July Parade.. WBCFSL," and there are even more pictures at "Safe Libraries promoted in West Bend Parade."

Note, the "Safe Libraries" indicates that libraries should be safe or is part of the name of the local organization; it does not reference this SafeLibraries blog or the SafeLibraries.org web site.

.

ALA Gets It Right Again; American Libraries Magazine First to Get West Bend Story Straight

For the second post in a row, I have to congratulate the American Library Association [ALA]. Beverly Goldberg of American Libraries, the ALA's monthly membership magazine, accurately reported crucial information in the West Bend, WI, library matter, and the truth makes all the difference. See "Milwaukee Group Seeks Fiery Alternative to Materials Challenge," by Beverly Goldberg, American Libraries Online, 3 June 2009.

There is the significant issue of whether or not a materials reconsideration request was dropped by the complainant or by the library. The complainant says it was not and the library says it was because of various public statements made by the complainant. Four library board members were not reappointed precisely because they failed to respond to the request, so the question of whether the request was dropped and by whom is important. The complainant has not dropped her request that was accepted and already under review by the library. After many months, she still awaits an answer.

The library was able to use the School Library Journal to tell a different story:

"These were four very qualified people who collectively have a lot of experience on these issues," says library director Michael Tyree about the board members who were up for reappointment. "They were doing what they were supposed to do—wait for the Maziarkas to resubmit their reconsideration for library materials."

....

The couple ... is also asking the library to place warning labels on the books, as well as install Internet filters.

As a result of that change, Tyree says the library was advised by the city attorney to have the Maziarkas re-file their complaint. They have yet to do so—and instead, they’ve launched an online petition outlining their new demands.

Now in a perfect example of projection, listen to what the library says next:

"They’re very skillful at playing the political game," says Tyree, referring to the fact that the book challenge has ended up pitting city council members against library supporters—and has gained nationwide attention, with the American Library Association, the American Bookseller Foundation for Free Expression, the National Coalition Against Censorship, and the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee weighing in their support for the library board members.

Source: "West Bend City Council Fails to Reinstate Library Board Members," by Debra Lau Whelan, School Library Journal, 20 May 2009.

Regarding playing the political game, Tryee attempts to claim the complainant dropped the request, as shown above. But Beverly Goldberg of the ALA gets it right:

Ironically, four of the trustees were denied reappointment in April by the city council because they did not comply with the Maziarkas’ reconsideration requests and are serving until their successors are appointed.

"[T]hey did not comply with the Maziarkas’ reconsideration requests...." Exactly. The ALA gets it right.

Do you see what else makes the Beverly Goldberg article accurate? It does not raise the LGBT issues dropped long ago but raised again and again to distract people from the actual issues involved. What a breath of fresh air. I look forward to reading more of Beverly Goldberg's articles.

Having been critical of American Libraries whitewashing rape in the past, I am today giving credit where credit is due. Congratulations to the ALA for getting the West Bend story straight. The library dropped the matter, the complainant did not, and the ALA says so.

I just congratulated Deborah Caldwell-Stone of the ALA, and now I'm congratulating Beverly Goldberg. This is starting to become a pattern.

.

Response to ALA President and OIF Director Regarding West Bend, WI, and Control of the Local Library

The following is my response to American Library Association [ALA] President Jim Rettig and the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom Acting Director Deborah Caldwell-Stone regarding the matter in West Bend, WI. It is so good I had to reprint it here. It is so easy to prove these people false, and no one should ever be intimidated by them or the ALA. The ALA only further marginalizes itself:

Yes, I'm Dan Kleinman of SafeLibraries.

Queery, your blog post has become much more interesting because Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Acting Director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, has commented [t]here. I'm jealous and wish she would comment on my own blog.

Now I will respond to Ms. Caldwell-Stone, but let me first preface my response by saying she has been doing what she has been doing for a very long time and has made numerous statements on a variety of issues. Now nobody is a computer and is expected to remember everything they ever said. So when I point out a statement Ms. Caldwell-Stone made in the past and compare it to the current situation, please understand it is only to get at the issues, not to play gotcha. Pobody's nerfect. I make the following comments with all due respect to Ms. Caldwell-Stone.

I said only the following about Deborah Caldwell-Stone: "Further, the books will just be moved in the library. Even Deborah Caldwell-Stone has said that is appropriate in the appropriate circumstance."

To this Ms. Caldwell Stone responded, "For the record, Mr. Kleinman does not ... accurately portray my views or the views of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom."

However, in the past, Ms. Caldwell-Stone said, "There are times when a book might be moved, for example a young adult novel makes it into a fourth or fifth classroom and that's more appropriate for the high school library, and a committee can just say this was an inappropriate book to buy for this age group but it was an appropriate book to buy for this age category and it works for this high school library." Listen to the Deborah Caldwell-Stone say this in her own voice by clicking on the link located at "Deborah Caldwell-Stone Discusses Banned Books", by admin, American Library Association, 11 July 2008.

Now my reading of that tells me that there are times when a book might be moved for reasons of age appropriateness. Yes, the context was a public school library, but the same principle applies, and the speaker was Deborah Caldwell-Stone herself.

So when I said, "Further, the books will just be moved in the library. Even Deborah Caldwell-Stone has said that is appropriate in the appropriate circumstance," I have "Deborah Caldwell-Stone Discusses Banned Books" as my reliable source for that statement.

I try to provide accurate and truthful information, and I usually back it up with source material. Only this time I provided the source after I made the statement; how ironic the source I provided is the very person claiming I do not "accurately portray [her] views or the views of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom." Apparently, I do, at least in this instance.

On the other hand, it is Deborah Caldwell-Stone who herself is being misleading. She says, for instance, "The ALA opposes book banning and censorship in any form, including censorship that arises from disagreement with and disapproval of positive GLBT materials." While outwardly true, the whole truth is that no book has been banned for many decades in the USA. I'm talking about banned, not moved for reasons of age appropriateness. Bd of Educ. v. Pico says the parties stipulate that pervasively vulgar material may be removed from public schools immediately. US v. ALA, a big loss for the ALA and the ACLU, saw the Court say, "The interest in protecting young library users from material inappropriate for minors is legitimate, and even compelling, as all Members of the Court appear to agree." Did Ms. Caldwell-Stone tell you about that? Does the US Supreme Court make book banning and censorship the law of the land? No and no. See also "LISNews Disses Judith Krug Unwittingly" for how the ALA, indeed the very Office for Intellectual Freedom Caldwell-Stone leads, misleads the public on the issue of censorship just as she is doing here on this Queery blog post.

She misleads the public another way, but it may be innocently. Other than what she said about me that I proved was incorrect, the remainder of her comments addressed themselves not to the issues, but to a nonissue. The issue of "GLBT materials" is a nonissue because the proponent of the changes in the library has long ago (relatively speaking) dropped her claims regarding GLBT materials and has since requested only legal means for protecting children from inappropriate material in her own public library. That's the issue now. Legal means for protecting children. Deborah Caldwell-Stone did not address that issue. Why? My guess is that she knows they are legal and there actually are no arguments for not applying legal means to protect children. Hence the reliance on the out-of-date GLBT claims.

And I can see Ginny is really making her case well and convincing people to legally protect children in the public library and that the ALA knows this and knows this could set a dangerous precedent for libraries nationwide. How can I see this? Anyone can, actually. First, look at the misleading information provided by ALA acolytes at the UW-M: "UW-M Library School Misleads West Bend Citizens."

More to the point, however, is how uncharacteristically the top ALA leadership is getting directly involved in a local issue. The ALA is running scared. In the Queery blog we have the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom leader, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, making false statements, no matter how innocently.

And the ALA President himself has gotten directly involved. See the letter I have included below. He too, like Caldwell-Stone and like the UW-M, raises the out-of-date GLBT claim. But he also adds the false pornography issue. Pornography is not the issue. We can all agree no pornography is involved, but it is just not the issue. Material can be inappropriate for children and still not be pornography. The issue is inappropriate material for children, not pornography. Efforts to cast the issue as pornography are merely efforts to cleverly avoid the real issue.

Notice he also talks about, "we must preserve the intellectual freedom rights of the entire community," but his direct involvement in this matter is precisely the opposite, namely, to prevent the rights of the entire community and enforce the ALA's policies.

It's a public library, not an ALA library. It's West Bend's library, not Chicago's library. Do not be fooled by desperate people using false pornography and censorship claims or out-of-date GLBT claims. Notice how none of these people and organizations are discussing the actual issues, namely, the legal means for protecting children that is being sought in West Bend and successfully applied in other communities. Why is that?

=====================

On Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 4:20 PM, Nanette Perez nperez@ala.org wrote:

[ifaction] Statement from ALA President Regarding Library Controversy in West Bend, Wis.

The following is a statement issued by American Library Association President Jim Rettig regarding efforts to remove Library Board members and to restrict materials in the West Bend (Wisconsin) Community Memorial Library:

“Last week, the West Bend, Wisconsin Common Council voted to deny reappointment to four Library Board members, based on objections to these members’ ‘ideology’ and their adherence to library policy concerning challenges to materials in the library collection. This move appears to be motivated largely in response to an ongoing campaign that seeks to restrict access to books in the West Bend Community Memorial Library’s young adult collection of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender fiction and nonfiction.

“We are dismayed by and deeply concerned about these developments. Libraries connect people and ideas, by providing access to a diverse array of information to meet the needs of everyone in the community. Whatever their personal beliefs, library board members have an obligation to support this unique role of the public library. When individuals or groups attempt to block access to library materials in the name of their own particular beliefs, we must all oppose such efforts and we must preserve the intellectual freedom rights of the entire community.

“Fanning the flames of this controversy, opponents of open access in libraries have launched a campaign spreading fear and misinformation. Newspaper and radio ads call on the community to ‘protect our children,’ and have compared the removal of books from the library to buckling a child’s seat belt. A city Alderman has even gone so far as to compare the West Bend Community Memorial Library to a porn shop.

“The materials in question are not pornography. They include award-winning novels and acclaimed works of nonfiction. To advocate for the removal or restriction of these materials on the basis of partisan or doctrinal disapproval is censorship, pure and simple. Parents who believe a book is not appropriate for their own children are free to make that decision—for their children; they do not have the right nor the authority to make it for anyone else’s children.

"Because it supports intellectual freedom, the American Library Association (ALA) opposes book banning and censorship in any form, and supports librarians and library board members whenever they resist censorship in their libraries. Since our society is very diverse, libraries have a responsibility to provide materials that reflect the interests of all of their patrons.

“We stand in support of the librarians and Library Board members of the West Bend Community Memorial Library and the community members who defend intellectual freedom and open access to ideas. By resisting calls to censor potentially controversial materials, they promote and protect true education and learning, and uphold the cherished freedoms that we, as Americans, hold most dear.”

"Pro Gay Lobby" Violates Free Speech Rights with Threats to Businesses Hosting Petition Drive for Child Safety in Public Library in West Bend, WI

In West Bend, WI, there is an effort underway to improve child safety in the public library. The public library itself has reacted by refusing to address the issues, thereby leaving children exposed to dangers which the community may otherwise block using legally available means. The local government has responding by refusing to reappoint library board members responsible for failing to act in the interest of the local citizenry. And a petition drive is underway to implement legally available means to protect children in the West Bend Community Memorial Library. See the petition Protect Youth from Sexually Explicit Materials in the Library, and petition drive announcements here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Hear, hear! The petition drive is set to occur at various businesses in the surrounding area.

Along comes the "pro gay lobby," allegedly, according to one business owner, who is calling the businesses offering space for the petition drives. At least one business has backed out, according to that business owner, but he himself "will not be intimidated by the pro gay lobby":

After reviewing your site, YOU HAVE MY FULL CONFIDENCE; AND I WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED BY THE PRO GAY LOBBY TRYING TO PROSELYTIZE CHILDREN!!!!!

....

If my small allowance for "democracy" in my parking lot "stirs the pot" with the intolerant gay lobby, so be it! I do not want my children exposed to this material while innocently looking for random library material!

.... I will be opening ... at 8 AM, 2 hours early, and any "troublemaking" elements interfering with your great exercise of democracy, via petition for redress of grievances, will be asked to leave.

I will gladly sign your petition in the A.M.

Source: "This BUSINESS OWNER is NOT AFRAID," by West Bend Citizen Advocate, WISSUP - WISCONSIN SPEAKS UP, 24 April 2009.

If the above is accurate, isn't is sad when those claiming a violation of freedom of speech occurs when children are legally restricted from inappropriate material use their own freedom of speech violations as a means to their ends?

Isn't it wrong when "intolerance," or anything for that matter, is used to suppress free speech?

Isn't it great when people are not intimidated by these kind of tactics?

One has to wonder what is so bad about legal means to keep children from inappropriate material that people have to violate the free speech rights of others to suppress citizens from hearing different viewpoints so as to decide for themselves what's right and what's wrong.

Think about this. Without knowing what an issue is about at all, I would side with those being denied their freedom of speech by a vocal minority using threats and intimidation to shut them up. That in itself indicates to me the intimidators know they are wrong and have no legitimate argument to support what they seek.

Indeed, in this West Bend controversy or anywhere, there is no legitimate argument to support ignoring legal means to protect children from inappropriate material in the public library. None. And refusing to even consider the question is even worse. Forcibly shutting people up may even be criminal. Without knowing it, the efforts to suppress the free speech rights of West Bend and area citizens will only result in increasing support for their efforts to protect children in the public library.

See "This BUSINESS OWNER is NOT AFRAID," by West Bend Citizen Advocate, WISSUP - WISCONSIN SPEAKS UP, 24 April 2009.

[ADDED COMMENT 25 APRIL 2009:] Apparently, the opponents of free speech do believe in free inappropriate speech for children: "Opposers drove through Hobby Lobby parking lot and screamed obscenities at us and the children who were volunteering today. Some of the words were appalling..... (but pretty sure they could be found in many, if not most, of the books we are protesting). No child should be harassed in that manner. No adult should either, for that matter. They flipped us the middle finger." See "Intimidation Tactics Fail on Productive Day for Signature Drive.....," by West Bend Citizen Advocate, WISSUP - WISCONSIN SPEAKS UP, 25 April 2009. Just see the first comment below for more of this.

.

UW-M Library School Misleads West Bend Citizens

The School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has made a public statement to the citizens of West Bend, WI. "The School shall contribute locally ... in information-related education, ... and service," says the "SOIS Vision." However, the "contribution" in West Bend is to mislead the community into giving up legal means to protect children from harm. And by this means the American Library Association [ALA], which accredited SOIS and whitewashes child rape in public libraries, again pressures another community to keep the ALA's "anything goes" policies.

Here is my response to "UW-M School of Information Studies Statement of Support for the West Bend Library," by Dr. Joyce Latham, School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, April 14, 2009:

Dear Dr. Joyce Latham,

"In recent weeks, two citizens of West Bend, Wisconsin have petitioned the West Bend Community Memorial Library to remove gay-themed books...." Yes, but they are no longer seeking that goal and implying they are can only be misleading. Issues should be fought on the issues, not on false implications. Besides, after refining their goals, those two citizens have grown to hundreds. A fair report would have included that information.

"They further demand that the books be labeled with a warning about their content, arguing that they are obscene and pornographic." Perhaps, but that's not the real issue. And if someone does not articulate the real issue well, that does not mean the real issue should be ignored. The real issue is not pornography, rather it is material that may be legally treated differently from other material for reasons of age inappropriateness.

Or, if we don't want to recognize the differential status of the material in question, then shouldn't it be treated like all other holdings, with its subject matter properly identified? This is similar to the argument that indicating that the book is about sex or violence is considered "labeling," which carries a bad connotation. Yet if we label a book about "wood carving" as being about wood carving, that is okay. If the subject matter is neutral, then it's called "cataloging," yet if the subject matter is controversial, then it's considered "labeling."

And I love the way Dr. Latham makes it appear such a request is some out of this world idea. I suppose it would not help to further mislead people to disclose that other communities have already been successful in this regard. And look at this: "Missouri SB 450 - Requires public libraries to adopt policies on the placement of books and other materials that are obscene or pornographic for minors." Dr. Latham only discloses one side of the picture, and a distorted view at that.

"The books are from major publishers, sold in general bookstores, and are available in public and high school libraries throughout the state." True, but again this is misleading. For example, possibly the most liberal city in the USA, New York City, removed one of those books from hundreds of its schools because of its inappropriateness for children. Yet Dr. Latham makes no mention of that, choosing instead to mislead the public. Again. A pattern is starting to be established. Further, bookstores are private businesses, not public entities supported by taxpaying citizens.

"Throughout the history of the American public library, special interest groups have attempted to exert a disproportionate degree of influence on the development of a community wide resource." True, but the implication is citizens seeking redress under existing library policies are in the wrong, yet Dr. Latham does not address that the "special interest group ... exert[ing] a disproportionate degree of influence on the development of a community wide resource" may be the American Library Association [ALA] and its local acolytes.

"The public library was developed to be the anchor of free inquiry in our democracy." True, but tell me where "free inquiry" allows children access to inappropriate materials despite the law and common sense?

Does "free inquiry" for children include the following: "Lara unbuttoned my pants and pulled my boxers down a little and pulled out my penis. .... And then she wrapped her hand around it and put it into her mouth." The ALA awarded that book the top book of the year for children 12 and up, and with no notice as to the contents other than how wonderful was the book. I personally got the author to admit he would not even give his own award-winning book to his own 12 year old if he had one. Is providing publicly funded access to such material for children despite the law and common sense an "anchor of free inquiry in our democracy"?

"Over 15,000 public library branches throughout the United States maintain access to quality materials collected and arranged according to national standards developed by thoughtful and committed information professionals." Right, but Dr. Latham fails to disclose how the US Supreme Court allows certain materials to be kept from children despite this. For example, from US v. ALA, "The interest in protecting young library users from material inappropriate for minors is legitimate, and even compelling, as all Members of the Court appear to agree." Why does Dr. Latham exclude that? Such a stance is consistent with America's long history of aged-based laws designed to protect its youth.

"The education of these professionals is rigorous and expansive, demanding sophisticated skills in assessment, development and leadership; it ensures their preparedness to take the lead in developing and delivering information resources to their communities." So she says, apparently to explain why common sense, community values, and US Supreme Court decisions do not compare to "sophisticated" professionals. The Annoyed Librarian would disagree with Dr. Latham: "A library school by any other name would still be irrelevant to the concerns of actual librarians." And again, Dr. Latham fails to disclose that all such education must be ALA approved and thereby based on ALA policy.

"We, the faculty and teaching academic staff at the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, along with the SOIS Graduate Student Organization, commend the West Bend Community Memorial Library Board of Trustees, administration, and staff for their support of the principle of intellectual freedom in the face of pressure to abandon their professional and communal commitments." Excuse me? A legitimate filing of a request to reconsider material under an existing library policy is "pressure to abandon their professional and communal commitments"? The ALA said despite US v. ALA, its policies will remain unchanged and children will still have access to inappropriate materials. Are those the "professional commitments" the library is being "pressured to abandon"?

Furthermore, why would the library even have a policy of "material reconsideration" if the very act of "material reconsideration" is perceived as a threat or inconsistent with their philosophy. Many libraries maintain such policies, but often when someone wants to exercise the policy, it becomes a threat and the person is labeled a "censor." Maybe they just need to nix this policy, so no one bothers to ask in the future.

In summary, the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has totally misled the community. Then it recommended support for a policy made up by an out-of-state organization that continues to act despite a ruling against it in the US Supreme Court and that whitewashes library crimes. As a result, the West Bend community is being misled into voluntarily giving up legally available means for protecting children from harm in public venues.

I certainly hope the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is not receiving taxpayer funding to mislead those same taxpayers into allowing their children to become sexualized or otherwise endangered by "special interest groups" like the ALA despite the law and common sense.

Why do I have to make this statement? Large organizations array themselves against local communities, but they usually can't force the locals to act. Instead, they mislead the local communities to think like they think so the people will act like they would act. It's a propaganda technique called conversion. Voices like mine are few and far between, and our resources do not measure up to those of, say, the ALA's, which partly come with backing from George Soros and Playboy Enterprises:

Playboy's own sex and violence agenda long funded The American Library Association and its Freedom to Read campaign. Such a conflict of interest becomes significant when the ALA seeks to bring into our libraries previously prohibited "harmful matter" produced by one of its legal patrons.

Source: "The Toxic American Public Library: Violating Children with 'Harmful Matter'; 'A Clear & Present Danger,'" by Dr. Judith Reisman, The Institute for Media Education, 4 April 2000, footnote omitted.

Along comes the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Information Studies. It basically tells West Bend residents to oppose "pressure to abandon their professional and communal commitments." It does so by flat out misleading the public. Based on that false information, the community is suppose to act the way the library school and the ALA would want it to act, namely, ignore the law and common sense and leave the children exposed to harm.

Just look at the false and misleading "information" the "School of Information" provided. Certainly the great and powerful "School of Information" could not be wrong. Certainly we must oppose the "pressure to abandon professional and communal commitments." Small voices like mine, like Ginny Maziarka's, we are little bugs to be squashed by the great and powerful ALA-accredited "School of Information" and the Playboy-funded ALA. They know better. The library board knows better. We little people are too unsophisticated (I was actually told this by a library board). After all, that's why there's a library board in the first place, right?

Nothing happened here in West Bend. Move along. Children remain exposed to harm, so what, at least the citizens fought off the pressure to abandon professional commitments to ensure children have access to anything and everything despite the law and common sense. Who cares anyway, it's happening everywhere, there's bigger fish to fry. As Judith Krug, the 40 year de facto leader of the ALA and former ACLU-IL Board member said, "Parents who would tell their children not to read Playboy 'don't really care about their kids growing up and learning to think and explore.'" She's right; Ginny's wrong. Move along, nothing to see here. As Krug would say, "What we're dealing with is a minority of people who are very vocal.... These people are small in number but they start screeching, and people start getting concerned."

So that's why I had to make this statement. Someone has to stand up and support the children against the powerful interests. I'm doing it, Ginny's doing it in West Bend, and a few others nationwide are doing it, but we just don't have the machine the powerful interests have. So if you are reading this, this may be your only chance to hear another side of the story. Try to put the ALA propaganda out of your heads, think for yourselves, and protect your children as you are legally allowed to do.

If I were the UW-M School of Information Studies, I'd be embarrassed by Dr. Latham's one-sided, misleading attempt to influence West Bend citizens. The "SOIS Vision" is a distant vision right now.

.

West Bend Library Commits "Gross Error"; Refuses to Honor Materials Reconsideration Policy in Possibly Illegal Manner

The West Bend Community Memorial Library, West Bend, WI, has refused to honor its materials reconsideration policy in a possibly illegal manner. It agreed to review a citizen's complaint under that policy, the review was underway, then it stopped the review based on the recommendation of someone from the city government. The city attorney is not on the library board, yet the attorney claimed that certain statements made by the citizen outside the library were tantamount to a withdrawal of the request for reconsideration, and the library relied on that to stop the review midstream. The citizen asserts (see Citizen RESPONSE to WB Library) she has not withdrawn her request: "We insist on our appeal rights as we feel your withdrawal of our complaint is in gross error." Source: "Meeting on Gay-Themed Books Postponed; Library Board Asks That Complaint Be Further Clarified," by Dave Rank, West Bend Daily News, 21 March 2009, pA1.

The West Bend library may have effectively violated its community's trust. It holds out a policy to allow citizens redress, allows the process to get underway, then snatches it away in a possibly illegal manner. Remember, libraries are intentionally autonomous from political control, yet here the library allowed political control when it was convenient.

Offering the citizen the option of filing dozens of requests to replace the one stopped midstream does not cure the possibly illegal activity. Had the library wanted individual requests, it had the opportunity to say so before allowing the citizen to go through months of now useless activity.

Read how the library defers to the city attorney for yourselves, followed by today's newspaper story:

From: Michael Tyree <mtyree@west-bendlibrary.org>
To: ginny4him2@aol.com
Sent: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 6:02 pm

Subject: Library Board

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Maziarka,

I spoke with our City Attorney this afternoon about the Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form which you submitted on February 12, 2009. The original compaint [sic] objected to all books in the "Out of the Closet" category listed in the Young Adult section of the Library website. It did not object to specific books, only to the genre of books. Since the cancellation of the March 3, 2009 meeting, you have stated to the media, in blogs and to the City Attorney via email that you do not want to ban all of the books in the "Out of the Closet" category. The City Attorney interprets this to mean that your original complaint has been withdrawn. Ms. Schanning's analysis of what has been in the media, in blogs and what you have emailed to her is that you are now objecting to specific books within the genre.

For the Library Board to fully understand your Reconsideration Request to be addressed at the Board meeting, you will need to file individual requests about specific books that you object to and state reasons for your objection. These complaints will go through the normal reconsideration process which involves two meetings with Library staff before your requests can go before the Board. Thus, in order to provide time for the new Reconsideration Requests to proceed through the process, the Library Board meeting will not be rescheduled at this time. Instead, the Lib rary [sic] will wait for the complaints to move forward before the meeting is scheduled.

Regarding the other issues that you raised in your initial complaint (such as relocating books within the Library, adding books to the collection from the perspective of ex-gays and removing or password protecting the website link), the City Attorney stated these are issues that do not necessarily require action on the part of the Library Board. Under normal Library procedures, requests such as these are handled by the library staff and library director. We can meet again to discuss your concerns on these issues and I can report the outcome of these discussions to the Library Board. Should the Library Board wish to comment upon any of these subjects they can request that I have these issues added to a Board meeting agenda.

Essentially, what is being requested is that you clarify your complaint and work through the existing process regarding any specific books which you object to.

Personally, it's important that I contact you with this information before you heard it from any other person or source.

Sincerely,

Michael Tyree

Michael Tyree, Library Director
West Bend Community Memorial Library
630 Poplar Street
West Bend, WI 53095
Voice: 262-335-5151, ext. 125
FAX: 262-335-5150

Publication: APD - West Bend Daily News;
Date: Mar 21, 2009;
Section: Front Page
Page Number: A1

Meeting on Gay-Themed Books Postponed; Library Board Asks That Complaint Be Further Clarified

By DAVE RANK Daily News Staff

A meeting to discuss a citizen complaint on the inclusion of gay-themed books at the West Bend Community Memorial Library is being postponed, the library director said Thursday, until the complainants clarify which books they object to.

On Feb. 12, Ginny and Jim Maziarka of West Bend filed a formal request for reconsideration of library materials complaint, objecting to all books in the Out of the Closet category listed in the Young Adult section of the library’s Web site.

A March 3 meeting of the Library Board at which the complaint was to be discussed was postponed at the request of the West Bend Fire Department because more people were in the City Hall’s Common Council Chamber than its 265-person capacity.

That meeting had been rescheduled from the library to City Hall in an effort to accommodate an anticipated larger crowd.

The library was looking for a larger facility to hold the meeting.

In an exchange of e-mails Thursday and Friday also sent to the Daily News, Library Director Michael Tyree, following consultation with City Attorney Mary Schanning, informed the Maziarkas that public statements they made since filing their original complaint indicated they wanted certain books banned, not the entire category.

Because of that, Tyree wrote, the Maziarkas “will need to file individual requests about specific books that they object to and state reasons for their objection. These complaints will go through the normal reconsideration process which involves two meetings with library staff before their requests can go before the (Library) Board.”

“Essentially, what is being requested is that the Maziarkas clarify their complaint and work through the existing process regarding any specific books which they object to,” Tyree told the Daily News.

In their responding e-mail Friday morning, the Maziarkas called Tyree’s decision “the library board’s attempts to unilaterally withdraw our appeal without our permission and duck the issue that has now garnered much public attention so as to maneuver the issue out of the public eye and scrutiny with delay and the use of more private meetings with staff.”

“They know what is in these books and they know they will be shamed by any public airing of it,” Ginny Maziarka wrote to the Daily News.

“We would like to clarify that our original request stands,” the Maziarkas wrote to Tyree.

The Maziarkas said they initially sent a letter protesting the inclusion of “homosexual materials in the library as well as on the (library’s) web site.” They complied when Tyree told them they needed to fill out the formal request for reconsideration of library materials and discuss it with Young Adult librarian Kristin Pekoll before the Library Board could act on it. They then followed library procedures and talked to Tyree, after which the complaint was added to the Library Board agenda.

The letter and the formal complaint should be sufficient to trigger a hearing, the Maziarkas wrote in their e-mail. “We have been through this process once now and we have not withdrawn anything. All we have done is respond to your requests for clarification and more specifics, which we have done carefully and thoroughly.

“We insist on our appeal rights as we feel your withdrawal of our complaint is in gross error. We wish to proceed with the staff decisions that have already been fully discussed.”

The Maziarkas wrote that they feel “there is no point in breaking up the request into sub requests” and starting the process all over.

Tyree said the Maziarkas’ original complaint objected to all books in the Out of the Closet category and not to specific books.

“Since the cancellation of the March 3, 2009 meeting, Mr. and Mrs. Maziarka have stated to the media, in blogs and to the City Attorney via email that they do not want to ban all of the books in the ‘Out of the Closet’ category. The City Attorney interprets this to mean that their original complaint has been withdrawn. The Attorney’s analysis of what has been in the media, in their blogs and what the Maziarkas e-mailed to her is that they are now objecting to specific books within the genre.”

Library Board meeting is normally are held on the first Tuesday of the month but that will not happen next month. Tuesday, April 7 is the spring general election.

Tyree said he is still working on putting together a meeting in front of the Library Board.

.