NJ Freedom to Read Act Model Policy Is Invalid Since It Was Written by a Fired Librarian

NJ Freedom to Read Act model policies are invalid since they were written by a fired librarian.  School librarian Elissa Malespina, who was fired from Verona High School for book displays on race and LGBTQ+ themes, and school librarian Martha Hickson, who retired from North Hunterdon-Voorhees High School before she could be fired for giving kids obscenity under NJ 2C:34-3, wrote the policy for the new New Jersey Freedom to Read Act.  Martha Hickson introduced New Jersey State Senator Andrew Zwicker to the Freedom to Read Act that is written by the American Library Association in Chicago, Illinois.  That is now New Jersey law.

Now revealed is that Martha Hickson and Elissa Malespina also wrote the school policies required under the law:

Martha Hickson

Before I was fired, I already knew Martha Hickson’s story. I reached out to her for help and guidance while writing South Orange and Maplewood’s district policies related to censorship and book challenges. Her experience and deep understanding of how these attacks unfold shaped that work in lasting ways. The policy we wrote, informed by her knowledge, is now used as a model across New Jersey.

When I did lose my job, Martha was the first person I called. I was crying. I was overwhelmed. I was dealing with severe depression and anxiety triggered by my firing. Martha did not just listen. She helped me find a therapist and a doctor. She gave me the courage to speak publicly about what happened, not for attention, but so others would not feel as isolated as I did.

Seeing us together on screen, as we testified at a hearing in support of New Jersey’s Freedom to Read bill, was a reminder that this work is collective, and that the relationships built in this fight often begin long before crisis hits.

Source: Elissa Malespina blog post provided in X post thread shown below. 

When you see Elissa Malespina together with Martha Hickson on the screen in "The Librarians," it's right after Martha Hickson says, "fifth graders have penises."

And these are the people who wrote the policy to be followed by all schools in New Jersey and modeled in other states.  

Unbelievable.

The policy schools must follow per a law written by American Library Association was written by a school librarian fired for gr[00]ming and another school librarian who retired before job action could be taken against her and who worked with ALA to get the Freedom to Read Act passed in New Jersey—because "fifth graders have penises."

"The policy we wrote, informed by her knowledge, is now used as a model across New Jersey."

Unbelievable.

Here we see fired school librarian Elissa Malespina and school librarian Martha Hickson in American Library Association’s “The Librarians” after Martha says, “fifth graders have penises.”

Elissa just admitted she and Martha wrote the school library policy required by NJ FTRA. pic.twitter.com/ekpHNnO6Gj

— Dan Kleinman @OccupyLibraries (@OccupyLibraries) February 7, 2026

By the way, the NJ Freedom to Read Act (N.J.S.A. 18A:34A-1 et seq.) requires:

To assist boards of education in developing a policy on the curation of library material within a school library, the commissioner shall develop a model policy. In developing the model policy, the commissioner shall consult with the State Librarian, the New Jersey Association of School Librarians, and the New Jersey School Boards Association.

Clearly we have an admission here that the model policies were written by two school librarians, one fired and the other who helped ALA get it passed into law in New Jersey.  

We have an admission against interest here ("policy we wrote, informed by her knowledge, is now used as a model across New Jersey") that the policies were not developed as required by the law, or at a minimum one of the consultants who wrote the model policy for the commissioner had already been fired for ideologically gr[00]ming school children.  

School Library Journal tells us what happened from a point of view very much in favor of Elissa Malespina.  Still, we get a sense of why she was fired:

"Mrs. Malespina does a nice job with creating collections for display about equity, specifically regarding the themes of race and LGBTQ.  However, the selections never seem to go beyond those two topics.  This has created the perception that the library is about only two things and not necessarily about promoting a variety of different books centered around a variety of different topics.  Although it is difficult to say, this may be why the number of books that are checked-out of the library is not as high as might be expected.  This approach to library displays creates a student space that is not inclusive enough to a wide variety of topics such as sports, politics, health, science fiction, graphic novels, etc.  In order to create positive interactions with students and parents the space has to be a hub for events and a space that promotes a variety of topics and interests.  It is recommended that there is a reflection on what the space is for and how it can be better utilized to serve the student and broader community."

In the review's conclusion, the principal said he would not recommend that the school bring Malespina back for the next school year.

Source: "After Her Book Displays Drew Criticism, Librarian Elissa Malespina Lost Her Job.  She's Here to Say 'I'm Not OK with This,'" by Kara Yorio, School Library Journal, 18 October 2022.

So now we know why she was fired.  My opinion from reading this is that she was fired for ideologically gr[00]ming school children.  Whatever—this is the person who wrote the policies where the law says "the commissioner shall consult with the State Librarian, the New Jersey Association of School Librarians, and the New Jersey School Boards Association."  Even if Elissa Malespina was actually consulted under the law, her having been fired for ideological gr[00]ming of children should have invalidated her participation.  Thus the model policies are essentially invalid.  

Any law case brought to invalidate the NJ Freedom to Read Act will point to this very issue.  Any other state laws copying from New Jersey will be similarly suspect.

The law is not being followed.  The policies as written violate the law.  This was always the intention of the cleverly worded FTRA as written by ALA, but here is the solid proof that ALA people—including a fired librarian—wrote the policies, not those charged with that duty under the law.  

So the model policies are illegal.  Schools need not follow illegal model policies, and those that already have should rescind them.  They were written by a school librarian fired for ideological gr[00]ming of school children, not as required by law.

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Legal Defense for SLAPP Suits Against Free Speech

People Who Say 'No Books are Obscene' Think Parents are White Supremacists; It's Misdirection

People who say "no books are obscene" think parents are white supremacists. New Jersey Senator Andrew Zwicker in the hearing to pass the "Freedom to Read Act" (originally written by Chicago, Illinois's American Library Association, as Zwicker admitted to me when pushed, pictured top right) S2421 out of committee to the full senate said, "None of these books has been deemed obscene."  He's been subjected to American Library Association's "long-term inoculation," so of course he thinks what Chicago's ALA wants him to think instead of what New Jersey law requires and New Jersey citizens desire.

New Jersey's leading school librarian proponent of illegal obscenity (in NJ) for school children, the one who got ALA engaged in long-term inoculation of NJ legislators and in bullying school boards around the state to accept illegal obscenity in school libraries, including her own school's library, just announced publicly:

Book banners hate it when we say it, but there’s no p[]rn in school libraries. @veronikellymars explains the realities of the publishing and library professions. https://bookriot.com/books-dont-just-appear-on-library-shelves/

"Book banners," they invariably call anyone who questions any book.  Always using language to advance a political goal.  At least one New Jersey legislator answering to New Jersey citizens instead of Chicago's ALA, NJ Representative Dawn Fantasia, has responded to Martha Hickson's "there’s no p[]rn in school libraries" comment by saying:

Any adult who thinks "educational s[]x ed" includes instructing children to lubricate foreign objects and insert said items into their rectums for pleasure, or who encourages underage girls to take and distribute topless selfies, has lost their way.  Truly remarkable.

Lady, all of your screws are loose.

@Moms4Liberty @SexHarassed @CoboKristen @ChristinaMB122 @wakeupnj @fight4newjersey

Source: https://x.com/DawnFantasia_NJ/status/1841199775095673234 quote tweeting https://x.com/NHVfREADom/status/1841125020094857719 run by Martha Hickson in which she included: "A teen at yesterday’s hearing explains why: 'Educational content is not considered obscene; [that’s] why every s[]x ed & health teacher in the state of NJ has not been arrested.'"

What does this have to do with "white supremacy"?  It's because the people from Chicago promoting inappropriate material for children nationwide despite the law can and will say anything to deflect from the truth.  Like Kelly Jensen, pictured at right, who Martha Hickson promoted in her X post.

Quoting now from that BookRiot article by Kelly Jensen:

And, as always, we know this is not about materials in the public or school libraries. It’s about control, removal, and erasure of any and all materials outside of a singular white supremacist view of the world.

She is openly saying white supremacy is the reason parents challenge books.  She's saying it's the parents attempting to "control" schools, ignoring Chicago's ALA is controlling schools, having pushed for that for about 60 years, such as by making up the "right to read" to take rights away from parents and by inserting "age" into the Library Bill of Right that's in nearly every library nationwide.

By the way, Kelly Jensen is so two faced that she trains librarians to block Christians from using public meeting rooms.  This is the expert Martha Hickson is promoting and Senator Answer Zwicker is repeating:

• "Author Urges Library Staff to 'Bow Out' on August 5th for Kirk Cameron & BRAVE Books Nationwide 'See You at the Library' Events; The First Amendment Ensures Institutions Respect Freedoms, Defines Rights for Expression and Belief, and Protects and Promotes Respect for Others' Rights Too," by Haley Kennington, Kennington Report, 1 August 2023.

So the woman calling parents white supremacists for attempting to remove books from schools under the law is the same person telling librarians, "For libraries that are hosting the Kirk Cameron Brave Book events, it is time to have a plan to let staff bow out that day...."

ALA itself trains librarians to block Christians from reading books in library public meeting room.  Yes, the same ALA that drafted NJ's "Freedom to Read Act" that Andrew Zwicker "wrote":

• "Library 2.0's 'Banned Books and Censorship' Conference Discusses How to Thwart Parents & Concerned Citizens From Challenging Banned LGBTQ+ Books Featuring Explicit Images & Language; 'It Makes It Too Easy for Parents or Community Members to Find Those Kinds of Books. Don't Make It Necessarily Easy for Those Groups to Find.' - Valerie Byrd Fort on Using 'Dummy Covers' on Books," by Haley Kennington, Kennington Reports, 22 June 2023.

Back to Kelly Jensen, now notice how the person decrying white supremacy also repeatedly states no school books are ever obscene.  That's because the opposite is true, but she thinks if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth:

Let’s say hypothetically that an agent sold an editor an obscene book.  First, that reflects on the agent and editor's inability to understand what the obscenity law is; but more realistically, it simply would not happen because the number of books acquired by agents and then editors is already minuscule and extremely curated.

Italics in original.  So no book is ever obscene because Jelly Kensen says so, and laws like NJS 2C:34-3 Obscenity for Person Under 18 don't matter to her.  "It simply would not happen."  Or as Andrew Zwicker put it, "None of these books has been deemed obscene."  Or as Martha Hickson put it, "there’s no p[]rn in school libraries."

Books cannot contain obscenity because it is against the law.  Obscenity has a standard, court-issued definition, by which agents and publishers (as well as their legal teams!) must abide.  It's the three-prong, 60-some-word Miller Test.  Even if one of those two books in our hypothetical situation were obscene, the legal department of the publisher would catch this before it ever went to press.

Italics and hyperlinks in original.  So again, "[b]ooks cannot obtain obscenity."  This time because the "Miller Test" applies, she says.  

I love how she links to Wikipedia and not a constitutional expert like Eugene Volokh: 

• "Removal of Books With 'Lascivious Content' from School Libraries Likely Constitutionally Permissible; So Holds a Federal District Court, Also Stressing That 'This Case Does Not Involve Banning Books': 'A School District Does Not "Ban" a Book When ... It "Decides Not to Continue Possessing [a] Book On its Own Library Shelves,"'" by Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy, 9 August 2022.  

And she completely and intentionally ignores that the Pico case applies in schools, not the older Miller case, per attorney Stuart Baggish who has successfully prosecuted obscenity cases.  

"Even if [the] books ... were obscene, the legal department of the publisher would catch this...."  Now that's just flat out lying, and she presents herself as an expert on publishing.  And there's more:

But there are not obscene books being acquired and published through traditional routes, and it's rare to find them in self-published material…because it is against the law to publish or distribute such material.

She completely and intentionally misses the point that books that are in schools that, yes, are not obscenity under the Miller case, may still be immediately removed under the Pico case, and in some jurisdictions may still be considered obscenity, such as under NJS 2C:34-3.  Her next statement goes for the throats of parents:

The obscenity arguments dramatically performed in board rooms would be better suited to thinking about what kind of obscene material is readily accessible on any teenager's internet-capable phone.

So parents are overdramatic when they oppose their children being harmed by school librarians to satisfy ALA's 60-year political goals.  Further, she adds, those are not the droids you are looking for.  Look at the iPhones and Androids your kids have, those are the 'Droids, it's way worse than what's in Pico, so just ignore Pico and gosh darn-it, do better parenting!  So publicly funded p[]rn is okay because parents punt on protection.

Parents are in for another spanking:

The rampant mis/dis/mal information about libraries and the materials in them coming from a small set of voices does not bestow those individuals any authority, experience, or knowledge of how to do the work of those trained professionals. Instead, they subvert the reality of the situation: it's their job to actually parent their children and not expect the library to do it for them.

There's another intentional lie buried in there so you don't see it.  See it?  "A small set of voices" versus "trained professionals."  First, librarianship is a job, not a profession.  Second, the "professional" training comes from the MLIS degree.  ALA accredits MLIS schools and has required for accreditation that library schools teach diversity, equity, and inclusion in every single class of the MLIS degree.  So essentially graduates are accredited Marxists.  

Further, diversity and inclusion are the very excuses ALA uses to "reframe" "s[]xually inappropriate material."  Librarians are to "reframe" "s[]xually inappropriate material" as diversity and inclusion.  So diverse and inclusive materials means to "trained professional" librarians materials that are "s[]xually inappropriate," they know it, but they are going to lie to parents and claim DEI.  

Listen to US Senator Mike Lee from Utah demonstrate and explain this in detail: https://www.c-span.org/video/standalone/?c5085234/user-clip-sen-lee-comments.  That's not a "professional," that's what Senator Mike Lee calls a "gr[]mer."  His words, a US Senator, during a US Senate hearing on "banned books."  Per the Senator, librarians are trained gr[]mers.  They are spreading this across America via state and federal "Right to Read" or "Freedom to Read" or "Libraries For All" legislation.

"[A] small set of voices."  What does that mean?  It's a constant theme of ALA.  The theme is that a few vocal parents are in the vast minority, they are prudes, Christofascists, white supremacists, censors, and so on, so just ignore that small group.  They're crazy.  Even NJ Senator Vin Gopal called parents "extremists," something ALA people repeat repeatedly, "Extremists who continue to spread misinformation and want to ban books won’t win in New Jersey - just as they attempted against me last year and lost by 20+ points." 

The truth is the exact opposite.  The professional gr[]mers (remember, a US Senator exposed this) led by Chicago's ALA is the small set of loud voices.  Not the parents.  The vast majority are the parents who oppose explicit books in public schools.  Of sure ALA took a poll showing most oppose book banning, but that's not the issue.  A Harris and Rasmussen poll and others show the vast majority of the public opposes explicit books in public schools.  So "a small set of voices" is yet more gaslighting to get parents to feel alone and to back done and to let school children continue to be indoctrinated.

Here comes the DARVO, Divide, Attack, Reverse Victim and Oppressor:

And, as always, we know this is not about materials in the public or school libraries.  It's about control, removal, and erasure of any and all materials outside of a singular white supremacist view of the world.  See the latest attempts to get books pulled even in Little Free Libraries–the lies compound and the goalposts of the movement continue to move.

Hyperlink in original, though I used an archived link to avoid an email request block.  The division is those having a worldview of "control, removal, and erasure." Parents thus set up are then attacked as "singular white supremacists."  The reversing of victim and oppressor is the one case she found where two people merely expressed an interest in Little Free Libraries, so it's really a fake claim of attempted book banning, and just to reverse victim and oppressor, because a weak/fake case is all she's got.

So when people say no books are obscene, it is misdirection.  They also think parents are white supremacists so no books should ever be removed from any school despite the US Supreme Court, the law, common sense, and community standards.  They make parents the bad guys, the extremists.  Librarians and people they've successfully indoctrinated like Senator Andrew Zwicker want us all to ignore our local laws and customs and substitute instead the approximately 60-year goal of an organization from Chicago, Illinois, that now has three Marxist presidents, one even being "nonbinary."  

It's giant gaslighting.  It's misdirection.  Parents have every right to have cases and laws like Pico and 2C:34-3 applied in schools without "professional librarians" using their DEI training to saw anything goes and they know better.  Actually state residents know what's better for the state's children, way better than some Chicago, Illinois, organization that has been working for sixty years to harm as many children as possible.  I know, sounds shocking because we all think librarians are angels, but those days have been over for sixty years.

NOTE ADDED 15 OCTOBER 2024:

1)  In reaction to the above post, Kelly Jensen "Buttered Jorts (fka kelly jensen 🐱🐰)" has doubled down on her white supremacy claim, even shouting about it (by using all caps), proving I'm right over the target, and we all know by now "inclusive books" means ones ALA trains librarians are "s*xually inappropriate for minors" but are to be "reframed" as inclusive:

"You ARE a white supremacist when you ban inclusive books :)

So, to her, banning s*xually inappropriate materials for minors from schools makes you a white supremacist.  Why?  Because she is hiding that parents have every legal right to remove such books.  Only the shouting bullying of people who claim they are professionals using claimed professional sources are dissuading people from doing what's right and what's common sense to protect children from harm.  Are we going to let librarians bully us like this?

2)  And if you don't cower, you get personally attacked.  In reaction to the above post, Kelly Jensen directs her DARVO directly at me.  She apparently reads my blog despite blocking me on social media.  I've been at this for a quarter century so I suppose I have a following among librarians who block me.  One could say she's obsessed with me, I suppose.  After she divided and attacked parents again ("Kids are humans who have rights, too, and it's a parent's job to parent"), she then reversed victim and oppressor by making herself the victim—of me!  DARVO all over again.

"Dan's obsession with me is truly frightening. https://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2024/10/people-who-say-no-books-are-obscene.html"

She's claiming no school books are ever obscene and parents who say otherwise are white supremacists, I report on that, then it's time to attack the messenger and claim he's obsessed and it's "truly frightening."  

What's "truly frightening" is the grip American Library Association has over American libraries and the public employees who serve those libraries so much so that children are regularly and gleefully indoctrinated nationwide while their parents and legislators are gaslit.  And that ALA obsession is six decades old and expanding exponentially.  That's what's frightening.

One final thought.  Kelly Jensen just made the claim that no schools have inappropriate material by praising the publishing industry.  She described in detail how wonderful and hard working they are, so no way illegal obscenity could slip through the cracks.  "If you’re counting, it's likely you have already lost how many guardrails are already in place and we haven't even gotten to the library shelf yet," she says.

Really?  Guardrails?  Okay, then explain how Kamala Harris's publisher, Chronicle Books, allowed SMART ON CRIME to bypass all the guardrails and be loaded with multiple major incidents of plagiarism, even stealing from substandard Wikipedia.

EXCLUSIVE: Kamala Harris plagiarized at least a dozen sections of her criminal-justice book, Smart on Crime, according to a new investigation. The current vice president even lifted material from Wikipedia.

We have the receipts. 🧵

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 14, 2024

—

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Anticapitalism is the 'Big Idea' of American Library Association Conference PLA2024

Anticapitalism is the "big idea" of American Library Association [ALA] conference called PLA2024 by its Public Library Association [PLA].  Have your governments just funded your librarians to attend ALA conferences, to be members of ALA or its PLA?  Then you just funded a political effort to destroy your country and your way of life.

At the PLA 2024 Conference April 3-5, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio, on the main page for the conference, are two "featured speakers" Dr. Bettina Love and Mary Annaïse Heglar, both being "Big Ideas Speakers."

Source: https://www.placonference.org/event/016e56a2-bc16-4851-a9ce-699d90a92e7c/summary  

"The Big Ideas Series has become a crowd favorite of PLA Conference attendees. Similar to 'TED Talks,' Big Ideas kicks off your day with an inspiring speaker sure to challenge your mind and spark your creativity."  

Source: https://www.placonference.org/event/016e56a2-bc16-4851-a9ce-699d90a92e7c/websitePage:b39b514a-7903-4407-88d5-7178c7f41566

So how might these speakers at an ALA conference you're paying your librarians to attend have their minds challenged and their creativity sparked?  With anticapitalism, of course.  Can we see yet another reason why ALA must be defunded and why ALA conferences are just about indoctrination?

Let's look at the inspiring big ideas of Dr. Bettina Love that are supposed to challenge the minds of public librarians, at least as reflecting on X at @BLoveSoulPower:

Bettina Love:  "Just just can't understand how we don't have an once of humanity for people trying to live in a pandemic. F*ck capitalism and greed."  [Perfect example, by the way, of how you create the problem, blame capitalism, then provide the solution: anticapitalism.]

Bettina Love:  "These facts say it all!!! Capitalism = death for Black and Brown people. We got receipts for this."

Bettina Love:  "Fix it, White Jesus. These folx sitting up there laughing as this man spins capitalism into Christianity. I see why #KanyeWestSundayService was there. #lies"

Bettina Love:  "The way capitalism traps people into thinking they will be rich one day, so they empathize with billionaires and not their neighbors is too much for me. #TaxTheRich #Taxing". [Kind of gives a little insight into why the Democrats seek to tax the right and are running on raising taxes.  Yet look what happens to "neighbors" from the unbridled crime rates and the open borders.]

Now let's look at the big ideas to spark creativity from Mary Annaïse Heglar per her X @MaryHeglar:

Mary Annaïse Heglar:  "A big part of the problem with so many climate 'solutions' is that their authors don't understand that capitalism is a CAUSE of the climate crisis, not a SOLUTION to it."

Mary Annaïse Heglar:  "i want pancakes, but i don't have time to make them. f*ck capitalism."

Mary Annaïse Heglar:  "it is truly wild how capitalism will see a problem and be like 'I know! Let's do the same thing we've been doing—just MORE of it!'"

Mary Annaïse Heglar:  "If you can identify money as one of the biggest impediments to climate action, how do you NOT identify dismantling capitalism as a solution?"

Mary Annaïse Heglar:  "I'd say there's no capitalism as we know it without 'white supremacy' not so much 'whiteness'"

So the "Big Ideas" for public librarians to learn on the public's dime are anticapitalism, with a side helping of racism and hate.  This is what librarians are learning as Big Ideas to kick off their day at an ALA conference with an inspiring speaker sure to challenge their minds and spark their creativity.  Then they come back to the local communities and implement the anticapitalism and racism and hate they just learned.  All taxpayer funded.  All of it.  Memberships, conferences, travel, meals, incidentals, all of it.

Here are comments from others on this topic:

The American Library Association is still promoting lunatic Marxists. Bettina Love is the one who famously said the "systemic racism" in our schools is "spirit murdering" "students of color." https://t.co/EgGqltvWrm

— James Lindsay, full varsity (@ConceptualJames) April 4, 2024

Bettina Love is a socialist education activist. https://t.co/lc9u3BakMf

— Karlyn Borysenko, the modern day Yuri Bezmenov (@DrKarlynB) April 4, 2024

Time for more states to defund ALA and stop sending librarians to be indoctrinated.  Yes?  Use the hashtag #PLA2024 so the librarians there can see what you are saying about this.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

URL of this page: 
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Drag Queen Story Hour Harms Children Says Senator Rubio; Cancel All DQSH From All American Libraries

Drag Queen Story Hour harms children, says US Senator Marco Rubio.  The issue arose when Ramstein Air Base library advertised for "Drag Queen Story Hour" for children.  

The point here is that if children are harmed, then the activity is blocked by law from public libraries that requires library activities be for the use and benefit of the public (as I've previously reported), and the statements by a US Senator make clear Drag Queen Story Hour is harmful.  As such it violates library laws, so it is time to dismantle and preclude all such shows throughout American public libraries.  

Here are specific statements made by Senator Rubio showing Drag Queen Story Hour is harmful to children:

1. "politically divisive event"
2. "gross abuse of taxpayer funding to place children in a sexualized environment"
3. "It is completely insane for Ramstein AFB to use on-installation resources for rituals like 'Drag Queen Story Time.'  These inappropriate events are extremely divisive at home for good reason; in all cases, they place young children in close proximity with adults who are intentionally and explicitly sexualized."
4. "decisions over children and their bodies should be left to moms and dads serving our nation, not mediated through publicly funded propaganda on U.S. Air Force bases"
5. "children are being exposed to sexually charged content"
6. "extraordinarily divisive events involving the children of U.S. servicemembers"

So a US Senator now says Drag Queen Story Hour harms children.

The only obstacle to stopping DQSH grooming in public libraries is groomer librarians standing in the way claiming FReadom and inclusion.  Don't let them.  Treat them as one treats groomers giving out candy in a playground then providing smut.

Just to be very clear, there is no way librarians are not specifically targeting children for sexualization:

1. Mainwaring, Doug. “Top US Library Group Colludes With Local Librarians to ‘Sneak’ LGBT Content to Kids.” LifeSite (blog), June 18, 2019. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/top-us-library-group-colludes-with-local-librarians-to-sneak-lgbt-content-to-kids/.
2. Pullmann, Joy. “21,460 Attend Library Conference Featuring Workshops On Drag Queens And Queering Elementary Schools.” The Federalist, July 10, 2019. https://thefederalist.com/2019/07/10/21460-librarians-attend-major-conference-featuring-workshops-drag-queens-queering-elementary-schools/.
3. Kraft, John, and Kirk Allen. “Dunlap Library District Punished Employees Who Reported Suspected Child Porn Viewing.” Illinois Leaks (blog), May 27, 2022. https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2022/05/dunlap-library-district-punished-employees-who-reported-suspected-child-porn-viewing/.
4. Rosiak, Luke. “Cops Probe After Middle School Librarian Allegedly Says Students Are ‘Sex Workers’ To Justify Pro-Prostitution Book.” The Daily Wire, May 28, 2022. https://www.dailywire.com/news/cops-probe-after-middle-school-librarian-allegedly-says-students-are-sex-workers-to-justify-pro-prostitution-book.
5. Rosiak, Luke. “Texas Library Association Conference Features a Drag Queen and Ibram Kendi.” The Daily Wire, April 26, 2022 [NOTE: I am cited in this report]. https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-library-association-conference-features-a-drag-queen-and-ibram-kendi.
6.    Kleinman, Dan. “Brave Librarian Speaks Out as ALA Facilitates CHILD Porn.” SafeLibraries® (blog), January 21, 2017. https://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2017/01/brave-librarian-speaks-out.html.

Back to Ramstein AFB, don't worry about the librarians there complaining they cannot sexualize children with Drag Queen Story Hour.  They will find other ways to target children, like with the "Gender Queer" book prominently displayed at the top of all others in the base library as shown in the graphic below, a book that is being removed from public schools due to the graphic displays including of a boy giving a Lewinsky to a man—and there's a direct reference to kink dot com, a BDSM site.  Indeed, a judge has ruled as obscene the very book most prominently displayed in the military base's library:

• Willis, Carl. “‘Doesn’t Mean the Books Are Banned’: Va. Judge Rules Pair of Books Obscene for Kids.” WJLA-ABC7, May 19, 2022. https://wjla.com/news/local/virginia-judge-books-obscene-banned-kids-school-district-ban-library-gender-queer-court-mist-fury-sexual-content-barnes-noble-fairfax.

So while our military men and women are defending freedom, military base librarians are defiling their children.  Good thing the harmful DQSH indoctrination was stopped but it looks like the librarian groomers themselves need to be removed.  Don't feel guilty about stopping groomer librarians.  Just do it.

And expect librarians to play the guilt game, the inclusion game.  They are already doing it.  

As Libby Emmons reported, Melissa Kay @mellyliveshere from Ramstein Air Base said, "We're being forced to cancel all drag events on Ramstein due to a minority of people that have nothing to do with our base or community.  Inclusive my ass Air Force."  It's a minority of people who push sexualization of children in public libraries in the first place, not a minority who force cancellation of drag events—that's what most would do if they could.  Nice attempt at framing.  Setting that aside, notice she makes a plea for inclusiveness then uses it to hammer the US Air Force.  "Trans" inclusion has or should have nothing to do with the sexualization of children; only groomers argue otherwise.

In reality, librarians are anything but inclusive.  The call for inclusiveness is just another crow bar to slip in more sexualization of more children.  To demonstrate how librarians are anything but inclusive, see how black librarians where forced out of their jobs in libraries due to the racism that has been inherent in public libraries and the American Library Association from the beginning and that continues to this day. 

Black #librarians describe in detail why they quit their #lisjobs: #racism within #libraries. @BC_ALA @ALALibrary pushes #DEI into schools but itself was and is #racist.#parenting #moms #dads #edchat #alaac22 #ALATogetherAgain #FReadom #diversity #equity #inclusion https://t.co/T1hdF4CFB6

— Dan Kleinman of SafeLibraries® 🟧 (@SexHarassed) May 27, 2022

Notice even in that Library Journal article the emphasis was on mentoring, not deep-seated racism.  The real story was the inherent racism in librarianship driving black librarians out of the "profession," but Library Journal buried that lede because true inclusion is of no use to librarians, except to the extent it could be used as a cudgel.

No, librarians are not inclusive.  It's just more virtue signaling and more excuses to inure people to allowing librarians to sexualize children in libraries, or as Senator Marco Rubio put it, "intentionally and explicitly sexualized."

In summary, Drag Queen Storytime is harmful to children, even Senator Marco Rubio says so, and as such it is illegal in public libraries.  Librarians saying otherwise are groomers, the very people who should not only be ignored but actively removed from any position dealing with children. 

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LIST OF REFERENCES REGARDING

ILLEGAL AND CANCELLED DQSH AT RAMSTEIN AIR BASE:

Emmons, Libby. “US Air Force Base Holds Drag Queen Story Hour For Kids.” The Post Millennial, May 24, 2022. https://thepostmillennial.com/us-air-force-base-holds-drag-queen-story-hour-for-kids.

Howley, Patrick. “EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Air Force Base Hosts Drag Queen Story Time; What Is Going On?” National File (blog), May 24, 2022. https://nationalfile.com/breaking-u-s-air-force-base-hosts-drag-queen-story-time/.

Johnston, Elizabeth. “Air Force Cancels ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ for Airmen’s Children At Germany Base.” Elizabeth Johnston (blog), May 27, 2022. https://elizabethjohnston.org/air-force-cancels-drag-queen-story-time-for-airmens-children-at-germany-base/.

Lamb, Matt. “US Air Force Base Cancels Drag Queen Story Time After Public Outrage.” LifeSite (blog), May 27, 2022. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/u-s-air-force-base-cancels-drag-queen-story-hour-after-media-attention/.

Levesque, Brody. “‘Drag Queen Story Hour’ Axed by USAF Base- Sen. Rubio Takes Credit.” Los Angeles Blade: LGBTQ News, Rights, Politics, Entertainment (blog), May 27, 2022. https://www.losangelesblade.com/2022/05/27/drag-queen-story-hour-axed-by-usaf-base-sen-rubio-takes-credit/.

RT World News. “US Base to Host ‘Drag Queens’ For Children; The Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany Has Announced a ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ Event.” RT International, May 24, 2022. https://www.rt.com/news/556032-ramstein-drag-queen-story-time/.

Rubio, Marco. “Air Force Cancels ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ for Kids After Rubio Demands.” U.S. Senator for Florida, Marco Rubio, May 27, 2022. https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2022/5/air-force-cancels-drag-queen-story-time-for-kids-after-rubio-demands.

Vandiver, John. “Air Force Wing Nixes Drag Queen Reading Event for Children at Ramstein Library, Drawing LGBTQ Supporters’ Ire.” Stars and Stripes. Accessed May 27, 2022. https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2022-05-27/drag-queen-ramstein-air-base-6147832.html.

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School Librarians Admit Past Racism, Endorse State-Sponsored Reverse Racism

School librarians are all in on state-sponsored racism.  Read this posted a few days ago from the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division within American Library Association (ALA):

ALA Resolution 52 from AASL:

Because we so often run out of time to discuss the other resolutions, I wanted to share my 3 minute explanation of resolution 52 which we should be discussing and voting on today.

Why did AASL bring this resolution? This resolution is not solely an apology for inaction and for harm to others regarding past actions that were brought to our attention by author Wayne Wiegand. While looking at the actions, inactions and the silence of the past, we looked at ALA and AASL today to see how well we are working together on current EDI initiatives. We discovered that AASL has taken some beginning steps that others in ALA are unaware:

AASL has created documents and initiatives to support equity, diversity and inclusion and we listed these in the resolution in case you haven't seen them.

AASL has sponsored Spectrum Scholars program since its inception – our current president Kathy Carroll is a Spectrum Scholar.

Equity, diversity & inclusion are core values of our profession; EDI is at the forefront of AASL policies, our strategic, and our operational plans; and within every area of school librarian practice.

We acknowledge and we apologize for past actions and inactions that have harmed members of the profession and for the part AASL and ALA has played in historical racism and segregation in the library profession.

We commit to promoting diversity at the beginning of their careers, in leadership opportunities and in the greater work of AASL and ALA through an EDI lens in a sustainable manner.

We see the need for better communication throughout ALA so all are aware of EDI initiatives. One of the problems historically has not been that nothing was done, but that nothing was written or communicated to others within our profession about our work and opportunities.

AASL stands ready to lead loudly while creating opportunities and resources for collaboration with ALA divisions, ALA chapters, AASL chapters, ALA Roundtables and Ethnic Caucuses to create a stronger voice for our profession.

At a time when school and youth librarians are being targeted in our society for our intellectual freedom and social justice efforts; at a time when our BIPOC students are losing equitable access to school librarians and their libraries; at a time when we need to be standing together, taking action and communicating to others, this is when ALA needs to join with us to acknowledge the past, commit to doing better, and sharing our message of power and hope to promote Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Efforts in ALA while addressing historical effects of racism.

------------------------------

Diane R. Chen

School Librarian @ Stratford STEM Magnet School

AASL Division Councilor

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2021-2022 ALA CD#52 

2022 ALA Virtual January Council Meeting

Resolution to Promote Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Efforts in AASL

While Addressing Historical Effects of Racism

Whereas the American Library Association (ALA) Council adopted resolution CD#41-7618 “Resolution to Honor African Americans Who Fought Library Segregation” stating that the American Library Association participated both passively and actively, in the disenfranchisement of African American librarians, depriving them of the resources of a professional association;

Whereas between 1954 with the Brown v. Board of Education decision through 1968, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) took no action to publicly support Brown or to oppose segregated public school libraries;

Whereas Koch wrote in 1975 “from their late-nineteenth and early twentieth-century origins, southern state library and education associations to which school librarians belonged had been segregated. AASL not only said nothing and took no public position against these racist practices, it continued to accept delegates from segregated school library associations as AASL representatives until the mid-1960s. In 1951, AASL quietly decided that in its state-member Assembly, segregated black and white state library associations could each appoint one representative, but those representatives would each get only half a vote” ;

Whereas AASL acknowledges the racist experiences suffered by Black school librarians including Ernestine Denham Talbert, Jurl Portee Watkins, Carrie Coleman Robinson, and many others who did not have the voice of the association advocating on their behalf;

Whereas the inactions of AASL also caused harm to Black and Indigenous People Of Color (BIPOC) members of the school library profession;

Whereas AASL acknowledges harm done to fellow BIPOC colleagues and offers a sincere apology as an important and necessary first step in the process of reconciliation;

Whereas AASL must communicate how the association has worked to create documents and

initiatives to support equity, diversity and inclusion such as “Developing Inclusive Learners and  Citizens Activity Guide”, “Defending Intellectual Freedom: LGBTQ+ Material in School Libraries" Toolkit, Mary Keeling’s 2019-2020 Presidential Initiative, Office Hours, and Increasing Representation Mentoring Program (IRMP), and the Knowledge Quest March/April 2021 issue Black School Librarianship: Navigating Race and Creating Change;

Whereas, AASL has and continues to be a sponsor of the Spectrum Scholars program since its inception;

Whereas AASL affirms the importance of equity, diversity & inclusion as core values of our profession;

Whereas equity, diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of AASL policies, our strategic, and our operational plans;

Whereas equity, diversity and inclusion are within every area of school librarian practice including collection development, professional development, recruiting, mentoring, and instruction through our National School Library Standards and opens opportunities for future members to see themselves as an integral part of AASL; and

Whereas the inclusion of all perspectives enriches and builds understanding which in turn impacts our school library profession, our learners, and our community; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, that the American Library Association (ALA), on behalf of its members

1. Acknowledges the American Association of School Librarians’ past actions and inactions that have harmed members of the profession;
2. Apologizes to Black school librarians for wrongs committed against them and for AASL’s inactions on behalf of segregated school libraries and school library state associations;
3. Apologizes to all Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) school librarians for AASL’s part in historical racism and segregation in the school librarian profession;
4. Commits to promoting diversity in school librarianship in undergraduate and graduate programs and at school recruitment fairs;
5. Commits to ensuring a diverse and inclusive membership by recruiting, welcoming and encouraging BIPOC school librarians to consider leadership opportunities within ALA and AASL;
6. Commits to applying and prioritizing an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) lens in all aspects of the greater work of AASL and ALA;
7. Commits to sustaining a more diverse and inclusive leadership within ALA and AASL in terms of ethnicity, gender, and ability representation;
8. Communicates all EDI initiatives throughout AASL, ALA and the profession;
9. Creates opportunities and resources for collaboration with ALA divisions, ALA chapters, AASL chapters, ALA Roundtables and Ethnic Caucuses to create a stronger voice for our profession.

Mover: Diane R. Chen, AASL Division Councilor 

Seconder: Erika Long, Chapter Councilor

Kathy Carroll, Councilor-at-Large

Kathy Lester, Councilor-at-Large

Brenda Pruitt-Annisette, MLS, Ed.D., Chair, Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee 

Dorcas Hand, Councilor-at-Large

Joyce Kasman Valenza, PhD, Councilor-at-Large

Dr. Daniella Smith, Councilor-at-Large

Sara Dallas, Councilor at Large

Amy Lappin, Councilor-at-Large

Sara Kelly Johns, Councilor-at-Large

Version 11/07/2021

References:

American Association of School Librarians. 2018. “Defending Intellectual Freedom: LGBTQ+ Material in School Libraries.” https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslissues/toolkits/LGBTQ%2BResource%20Guide_FINAL-180709.pdf

American Association of School Librarians. 2019. “Developing Inclusive Learners and Citizens Activity Guide.”

https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2019/07/aasl-releases-guide-develop-inclusive-learners-and-citizens

 

American Association of School Librarians. 2021, March/April. ”Black School Librarianship: Navigating Race and Creating Change.” Knowledge Quest vol. 49, no. 4.

https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/explore-the-experiences-of-black-school-librarians-in-the-mar-apr-issue/

Koch, Charles William. 1975. “A History of the Association of American School Librarians, 1950- 1971.” PhD diss. Southern Illinois University.

Wiegand, Wayne A. 2021. “Race and School Librarianship in the Jim Crow South, 1954-1970: The Untold Story of Carrie Coleman Robinson as a Case Study.” Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, vol. 91, no. 3, pp. 254-269. 2021 by the University of Chicago.

Wiegand, Wayne A., and Shirley A. Wiegand. 2018. The Desegregation of Public Libraries in the Jim Crow South: Civil Rights and Local Activism. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.

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Spectrum Scholars, by the way, is a grant program for people who do not have "white" skin color.  It's racist.  It's reverse racism, just like everything else coming from school librarians today.  "The Spectrum Scholarship Program actively recruits and provides scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern and North African, and/or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students to assist them with obtaining a graduate degree and leadership positions within the profession and ALA."

To me, the above "Resolution" tells me the so-called "National School Library Standards" are racist and anything a school librarian says in furtherance of such "Standards" will be racist.  To me, the above shows me school librarians are all in on state-sponsored racism also known as Critical Race Theory.  What does it tell you?

As an aside, these same racist school librarians are calling it "freadom" for school kids to have school access to graphic child p r n—so why should we believe these racist groomers?  At least some people are no longer blindly accepting school librarian grooming, like Larry Sanger of Wikipedia and Knowledge Standards Foundation fame:

Should we disallow obscene material in libraries for *school children*?

Being strongly opposed to censorship (and that includes ideological censorship/filtering of library content) does not require that we give up all age standards, of course—never did.

What's changed? https://t.co/tYy532s59L

— Larry Sanger (@lsanger) March 12, 2022

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