IMLS: Don't Award Fraud in Public Libraries

A federal agency called the Institute of Museum and Library Services [IMLS] awards the National Medal for Museum and Library Service (shown at right):

• "Institute of Museum and Library Services Announces 2013 National Medal for Museum and Library Service Finalists," by Sara Neumann, Institute of Museum and Library Services, 14 February 2013. 

At least two of the award finalists are the King County Library System and the Pierce County Library System:

• "King and Pierce Counties Library Systems Recognized by Federal Agency; The Institute of Museum and Library Services Announced This Week that Both King County Library System and Pierce County Library System Were Finalists for the 2013 National Medal for Museum and Library Service," by Patch Staff, Enumclaw Patch, 16 February 2013.

Both libraries committed fraud (in my opinion, by defrauding the E-Rate program under the Children's Internet Protection Act):

• "Blatant CIPA Fraud in Pierce County Library in Policy and Practice Caught On Video," by Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries, 23 November 2012.
• "Library Leaves Pedophile Free to Molest Other Children; King County Library System Defrauds Taxpayers of $1,158,253 from CIPA Program; Media Investigation Needed," by Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries, 14 October 2010.

They may have enriched themselves with stolen funding to afford what it took to get the awards.  I have no idea how a library that commits fraud would be selected for such an award.  But I predicted something like this might happen:

• "Anything Goes for America if Seattle Public Library Director Susan Hildreth's Nomination is Confirmed for the Institute of Museum and Library Services," by Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries, 26 November 2010.

I certainly hope neither library wins the award.  IMLS:  please don't award fraud in public libraries.


NOTE ADDED APRIL 25 2013:

Remarkably, IMLS has awarded the Pierce County Library System with its National Medal for Museum and Library Service.  Specifically, see 7. Pierce County Library System.

What a disappointment.  A library committing CIPA fraud is awarded by another governmental entity.

URL of this page: 

http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2013/02/AwardingFraud.html

Follow @SafeLibraries

Fed Court Proves Not Censorship to Block Porn from Public Library Computers; Dean Marney and North Central Regional Library Prove ACLU Wrong in Bradburn v. NCRL

Dean Marney
tinyurl.com/DeanMarneyWins

The jig is up for American Library Association [ALA]/American Civil Libraries Union [ACLU] excuses allowing pornography on public library computers.  You simply do not have the civil liberty nor the First Amendment right to view pornography on public library computers:

• "Order Granting NCRL's Motion for Summary Judgment, Denying Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment, and Closing File," Bradburn v. North Central Regional Library District, No. CV-06-0327-EFS, United States District Court, Eastern District of Washington, 10 April 2012 (URL= http://tinyurl.com/DeanMarneyWins).
• "RURAL LIBRARY WINS PORN BATTLE AGAINST SEATTLE ACLU," NCRL Webmaster, North Central Regional Library, 11 April 2012.  (Based on "RURAL LIBRARY WINS PORN BATTLE AGAINST SEATTLE ACLU," News Release, North Central Regional Library, 10 April 2012.)
• "Eastern Wash. Library Wins Porn Battle Against Seattle ACLU," by KING 5 News, KING 5 News, 10 April 2012, hyperlinks in original:

A federal judge has ruled that an Eastern Washington library system is not violating the state constitution by using filters to block internet porn on library computers. 

Judge Edward F. Shea, Eastern Washington Federal District Court, ruled in favor of the North Central Regional Library.  The case was brought against the rural eastern Washington library district by the ACLU of Seattle.  The ACLU accused the library district of having an overly broad filtering policy. 

The ruling followed a decision handed down from the Washington State Supreme Court in May, 2010.  The Supreme Court found that the North Central Regional Library, the largest library district in the State of Washington, did not violate Article 1, Section 5 of the Washington State Constitution with its policy of filtering the internet. 

"Taxpayers are the winners in this case," said Library Director Dean Marney.  "Libraries should never be forced to use public funds to provide access to child pornography or to become illegal casinos.  Libraries should be sanctuaries for people of all ages." 

The NCRL, which represents 28 libraries in the central part of the state, has admitted the filtering policy puts them in the minority.  Other libraries have taken the stance of non-censorship, citing First Amendment rights.

Hey, it's legal!  Media, stop calling it "censorship."  It's not censorship.  The jig is up.  There is no First Amendment right to porn in public libraries.  Libraries know this, especially now, let alone since US v. ALA in 2003, so saying otherwise is simply and intentionally false.

Recall my previous writing on this topic:

• "Library Porn Removal Roadmap; NCRL Director Dean Marney Details How to Legally Remove Legal Porn from Public Library Computers and Advises that the ALA Relies on Outdated Dogma"

Wanna join people stopping libraries from misleading their communities on porn in public libraries, etc.?  Join the Watchdogs!  Join the winners.


NOTE ADDED 11 APRIL 2012:

Excellent historical information on the Bradburn case from David Burt:

• "Federal Judge Upholds Libary Filtering Policy in Bradburn Case," by David Burt, David Burt, 10 April 2012.

And some historical information from the ACLU of Washington State:

• "Lawsuit Seeks Access to Information on Internet for Adult Library Patrons," by ACLU of Washington State, ACLU of Washington State, 24 October 2011.

Another story on the current matter:

• "E. Washington Library Wins Suit; It Can Filter Porn," by Lynn Thompson, The Seattle Times, 10 April 2012.

NOTE ADDED 14 APRIL 2012:

In the article above, I have added an updated link for the NCRL News Release.

Let me add that the case makes clear:

1. A library may review a request for web access to ensure compliance with library policy,
2. A library may legally deny access to constitutionally protected material if said material does not fall within library policy,
3. It is not censorship to comply with the court's ruling and block constitutionally protected material from public libraries,
4. Porn and gambling do not fall within library policy (at least at this particular group of libraries), 
5. Other categories of constitutionally protected material may be legally blocked depending on the circumstances as the court did not restrict itself to only porn and gambling, and
6. Any library or library association saying filtering porn violates the First Amendment or the Freedom of Speech is factually and legally incorrect(, and that library may be acting outside the law, and that library's town government has a duty to require a library to act within the law or it may be held legally responsible otherwise for harm caused by a failure to comply with the law).

NOTE ADDED 15 APRIL 2012:

Another interesting historical look at this case:

• "SAF Sues Library System Over Internet Censorship of Gun Websites," by News Release, Second Amendment Foundation, 16 November 2006.

NOTE ADDED 16 APRIL 2012:

I HAVE BREAKING NEWS I AM BREAKING HERE AND NOW.  SAF AND ITS RELATED WEB SITES ARE NOT BEING BLOCKED BY NCRL!  SEE MY COMMENT BELOW OF EVEN DATE FOR DETAILS, EVIDENCE, RELIABLE SOURCES.

Follow @SafeLibraries

Library Leaves Pedophile Free to Molest Other Children; King County Library System Defrauds Taxpayers of $1,158,253 from CIPA Program; Media Investigation Needed

A public library let a pedophile go free, albeit after kicking him out of the library.  It was the roommate of the pedophile who called police.  Only then was the pedophile captured before he could molest another child.  By the way, the library system to which the public library belongs appears to have defrauded the government of $1,158,253.

Keep in mind the American Library Association [ALA] advises libraries not to call the police:  "As for obscenity and child pornography, prosecutors and police have adequate tools to enforce criminal laws.  Libraries are not a component of law enforcement efforts...."  As I have previously written, "Libraries Aid and Abet Pedophiles, Destroy Evidence, Retaliate Against Whistle Blowers, Claim Dubious Privacy and Free Speech Rights; ALA At Fault."

Read the article from The Seattle Times reprinted below and ask yourself if the pedophile might have molested another child in another public library bathroom had the roommate not called the police.  Isn't it common sense the library should have called the police instead of just kicking out the bad guy so he can move on to the next library?  Was it following ALA advice not to call the police?  Might there be liability involved for the library?  Thank goodness for the roommate who finally acted appropriately.  I urge the media to dig into this story further.  The library definitely holds ALA diktat in high esteem.

"Prosecutors Seeking Civil Commitment of Sex Offender," 

by Jennifer Sullivan, 

The Seattle Times, 

11 October 2010, 

hyperlinks and italics added, bold in original:

A convicted child molester who is accused of leering at a young girl at the Shoreline Public Library is back behind bars as King County prosecutors seek to have him civilly committed.

Robert R. Porter, 40, was arrested Friday and ordered held without bail.  Senior Deputy Prosecutor Hugh Barber said in a court filing that the state wants to have Porter held in jail and evaluated because of the recent "overt acts" involving the child at the library, the court filing said.

Under Washington state law, sex offenders can be confined indefinitely if it's determined they're a danger to the public.

Porter was convicted of first-degree child rape and first-degree child molestation in Clark County in 1995, Barber said in his filing.  Porter's victims included three 10-year-old girls, according to a sex offender notification [hyperlink in original] on the King County Sheriff's Office Web site.

While serving an 11-year prison sentence, Porter participated in sex offender treatment and was diagnosed as having a Mental Abnormality of Pedophilia, an illness that would make him likely to engage in acts of violence if not confined to a secure facility, prosecutors said.  Between his prison release in 2006 and 2009, Porter was on probation.

The King County Sheriff's Office started investigating him again earlier this month after receiving a phone call from his roommate, prosecutors said.  The roommate said that Porter told him about the Oct. 4 incident at the library.  Library staff told investigators that they kicked Porter out of the building after the mother of a 3- or 4-year-old girl reported that the man had been leering at the child.


Investigators talked to Porter on Oct. 8 and he said he was watching little girls at the library that day and was "fixated" on one particular child because she was "perfect," charging papers said.  Porter told detectives that he hoped to follow the girl into the restroom so she could perform a sex act on him, the papers said. 

Is your child "perfect"?  Better yet, does your library follow the law and common sense then call the police, or does it follow the anything goes ALA policy?  Find out before it's too late.  Speaking of acting too late, read on.

Defrauding the Government of $1,158,253

The library's actions caused me to take a closer look at its policies.  I found that the library claims  CIPA compliance: "The Board decision to comply with CIPA paves the way for continued federal funding for Internet access for KCLS."  Since 2004, the King County Library System [KCLS] has obtained $1,158,253 in funding based on that claim.

It's a false claim.  The library is stealing, in other words.  Fraud.  The money must be returned.  Of course this is all my opinion, but CIPA requires librarians, not patrons, to temporarily disable filters for patrons upon request:  "An authorized person may disable the blocking or filtering measure during any use by an adult to enable access for bona fide research or other lawful purposes."  A patron is not an "authorized person" or there would be no need for the requirement and all of CIPA would be useless.  So any disabling of filters without library involvement is not allowed under CIPA.  Yet the library policy specifically calls for filters to be disabled without library involvement after the first instance.  From the library system's "Internet Filtering Policy":

If a patron (17 years of age or older) wishes to opt out of filtering, he/she may request this of a KCLS staff member.  With valid photo ID, the KCLS staff member may change the patron's card status to allow unfiltered access for "legitimate research or other lawful purposes."

And with the "card status" changed, the patron can thereafter and forever more have unfiltered access without the intervention of any "authorized person," just his own card.  CIPA compliance has just been evaded.  The patron gets unfiltered access without having an authorized person disable the blocking.

I calculate, thanks to the federal government's "Automated Search of Commitments tool," (hint, use "Advanced Search") the following money was obtained fraudulently for "Internet Access" ("Telcomm" is not involved) by the "King County Library System," post 2003, the year CIPA was found constitutional in US v. ALA:

• 2004  $0
• 2005  $187,200.00
• 2006  $195,570.00 + $15,001.01
• 2007  $256,066.32 + $85,905.79
• 2008  $7,854.60 + $128,033.16
• 2009  $26,555.80 + $256,066.32
• 2010  $0, so far reported

That's a total of $1,158,253 fraudulently obtained by the library system that didn't call the police on the perpetrator in the Seattle Times story.  By the way, CIPA compliance failures may result in an audit that may result in the return of all funding to the federal government.  People might be interested in filing a complaint with the "Whistleblower Hotline" for the return of the misappropriated federal funding.

This library system is not the only one to defraud the taxpayers in this manner, in my opinion.  See also, relevant sections of which I hereby incorporate by reference, such as the ALA's guidance to libraries to sidestep the law:

• Jail for Library Child Porn Viewer; Unfiltered Brownsville Public Library May Be Committing CIPA Fraud
• Porn in Brooklyn Public Library; Frustrated Patron Provides Photographic Proof; Library Refuses to Act; Two and a Half Million Dollars in Jeopardy Due to Possible Fraud

 Will the Media Investigate the Obstruction of Justice, the Fraud?

Will the media further investigate this story using the information provided above and in the Brownsville Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library stories?  Is failure to call the police on pedophiles acceptable or legal?  Is it obstruction of justice?  Is defrauding the government of over a million dollars by claiming CIPA compliance acceptable or legal?


NOTE ADDED 8 JUNE 2011:

The Farce of the Year 2011 Award goes to....

• "Library of the Year 2011: King County Library System, WA | The People's Library; The Words 'Open to All' Permeate This Library's Strategic Plan," by John N. Berry III, Library Journal, 15 June 2011 (published online 8 June 2011).

I suppose ripping off taxpayers and leaving pedophiles to go free are part of the strategic plan.  The word "fraud" permeates this farce of an award.

Oh look, the top billed person judging the award, namely the ALA Immediate Past President Camila Alire, is herself a plagiarizer when she was ALA President.  No wonder KCLS was selected.


NOTE ADDED 17 FEBRUARY 2013:

• "IMLS: Don't Award Fraud in Public Libraries," by Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries, 17 February 2013.

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432 Patrons Ejected from Seattle Libraries in First Four Months of 2009; Librarians "Assaulted, Threatened and Spit Upon"

Library Conduct Violations Reach All-Time High

http://www.kirotv.com/news/19581377/detail.html

by Chris Halsne,
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News
27 May 2009
Emphasis added

SEATTLE -- The City of Seattle has been cracking down on bad behavior at its libraries, and there doesn't appear to be any shortage of it.

KIRO Team 7 Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne discovered security has already ejected 432 patrons in the first four months this year for offenses like assault, drug dealing, intoxication and lewd conduct.

If that pace continues, it would far exceed any other year.

On Wednesday evening, the library board amended some of its "code of conduct" rules to better identify the most dangerous offenses.

They range from simple alterations -- like redefining the violation for "sleeping" to "appear to be sleeping"-- to more serious matters, like kicking out repeat offenders for two years.

Seattle's library employees just want to help people find books they love, but along the way, put up with being assaulted, threatened and spit upon.

Patrons see plenty of erratic behavior, too.

According to 2008 conduct violations reports obtained exclusively by KIRO Team 7 Investigators, security booted 113 patrons for being disruptive, 42 people for fighting or assault, 75 for making threats, plus 34 more for lewd conduct.

In all, 1,323 conduct violations were substantiated just in 2008, a disproportionate number at the Central Library branch.

Library users like Judy, who brought her granddaughter to story time, are surprised at that number.

“This is a place you bring your children and you don't want them to be exposed to that,” Judy said.

KIRO Team 7 Investigators documented 776 cases in 2008 where someone did something serious enough to lose library privileges. In just the first four months of this year, 432 people have been kicked out in all branches, with 232 of those just from the Central Library downtown.

KIRO-TV hidden cameras found similar problems in 2005. Since then, the library hired more security, which led to an increased number of reported violations.

According to Seattle Library Administrator Marilynn Gardner, nobody has to worry about safety at any branch.

"Anyone can walk into a public library and we certainly welcome people from all kinds of backgrounds and I think they all expect it be a safe, comfortable space when they're trying to do library work," Gardner said.

Our cameras this week found sleeping is still commonplace, even though it's supposed to be banned. Bringing in huge bags -- as our video showed -- is supposedly banned, too. It’s a security issue and a way to keep homeless from camping out inside.

A new library board plan will create a sliding scale of punishment for low-end security issues like sleeping and oversized luggage.

Staff will now give verbal warnings first, then if the person won’t stop repeat offenders may be barred for a short time period.

Flinn Jofrey thinks that's a good plan.

“For the most part it seems pretty decent. I do see homeless people sleeping sometimes. It doesn't bother me as long as they are not bothering me, but I can see why the library wouldn't want that.”

When crimes are committed (like setting a fire or dealing drugs), new rules say patrons could lose privileges for up to two years. That’s up from the maximum one-year ban.

So, the four people recently caught for carrying weapons in the library wouldn't get to come back for a while.

Library users we spoke with think that’s a decent idea.

“I think if they're clarifying the rules, that makes sense, that they want to make things more clear for people, but no, it already feels like a good safe spot.”

Seattle library data indicated the number of trespassing and theft complaints have risen to record numbers so far this year, but cases of lewd conduct and verbal threats have gone down.

Copyright 2009 by KIROTV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (Republished under Copyright Section 107 Fair Use.)

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