Showing posts with label The Librarians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Librarians. Show all posts

Monday, February 9, 2026

The Librarians Film is Agitprop to Produce Outrage So American Library Association Librarians Can Continue Harming Children

The Librarians film is agitprop intended to produce outrage about "censorship" and "book bans" among the general public so the American Library Association's school librarians may continue to ply schoolchildren with inappropriate material, as they have for 60 years.

Worse, the film is intended to be used as agitprop for years to come.  Agitprop means "agitation" and "propaganda," per Dr. James Lindsay, who also discusses "paltering," which is exactly what the ALA does—particularly in The Librarians.

I have already written about the film in The Hill, including its paltering by providing a half-quote of President Dwight D. Eisenhower to give an impression about inappropriate books in schools that is essentially opposite of what the full quote said.  Please read:

I will dissect the film as time goes on, so follow me here and @OccupyLibraries.  But in the meantime, let's look as how the film is agitprop—because Kim A. Snyder, the film's director, says it is:

[Amanda] Jones said that the film shows how librarians are banding together and bringing these stories to light.

"We've gone from being independent and isolated to what Kim has said, that we're like librarians without borders because we're building relationships with other librarians," Jones said.

Now, after screening the documentary in various places, the "librarians without borders" have started a movement. "The Librarians" team plans to continue this campaign throughout 2026. They hope to encourage civic engagement and take these book debates out of a polarized partisan space. 

The PBS broadcast premiere puts the documentary into homes all over the country. 

"The majority of Americans really care but had no idea things had gotten like this, specifically in terms of the impact on the librarian," Snyder said. "We want to expose that and have people be both outraged and activated to get civically engaged. We also want to support organizations of librarians as they are the firewall protecting one of the most fundamental rights in our democracy."

Source:  "Louisiana Librarian Who Fought Against Book Bans Will Be Featured on New PBS Documentary," by Joy Holden, The Advocate, February 6, 2026.

Kim Snyder is consistent with her message that The Librarians is agitprop designed to get people who support harming kids to get onto library and school boards:


So let's not all be taken in by an organization that has worked for over 60 years to eliminate parental rights and indoctrinate schoolchildren.

Lastly, listen to Dr. James Lindsay discussing agitprop and how paltering is used for that purpose—and remember to follow me for more on this agitprop called The Librarians as time goes on.

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Location: Chicago, IL, USA

Saturday, February 7, 2026

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.




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.


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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Location: 125 W State St, Trenton, NJ 08608, USA

Sunday, January 18, 2026

TPIA / FOIA Request 001: Llano ISD Board of Trustees

Dear Llano ISD Board of Trustees,

There is a potential for a serious problem within either the Board of Trustees or school management, faculty, or employees.  This is not exaggeration nor a reason for ridicule.

On Saturday, January 10th, 2026 at 9:53 PM, I sent you an email entitled, "Schools Displaying 'The Librarians' Might Renew Bullying of Parents, Presenting Liability."  I then published, "Schools Displaying 'The Librarians' Might Renew Bullying of Parents, Presenting Liability" at https://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2026/01/schools-displaying-librarians.html .

What I sent you, and what eight other people sent you, was published, with only email addresses redacted, on the internet, in a post to a Facebook group called "Llano County News Wire."  It exposed personally identifiable information on the TPIA responses. Ridicule ensued at the site, likely part of the reason or goal for the exposure.  See: https://www.facebook.com/llanocountynewswire/posts/pfbid0jRsuKFgrr9jEMyLvYFUAxm8nHohD3CEkQvPYyUsXqwRKD3aVUf8XVoQ7N5k9spV3l or https://www.facebook.com/100063579010535/posts/1497987242330562/ 

By the way, in that comment by "Llano County News Wire," he/she does not merely report news but kickstarts the ridicule of the parents he/she just doxxed. He/she says, "Keep in mind most came from people living in other states or towns."  So already the message is don't listen to us; that's not journalism.  He/she leaves out that the American Library Association and nearly all of the contents of "The Librarians" comprise "people living in other states or towns."  He/she uses it as a smear on parents writing to the school, while defending "people living in other states or towns" as shown in ALA's movie and with ALA policy all over the school that's causing the problems in the first place, the Library Bill of Rights, for example. ALA is from Chicago, Illinois. By the way, I'm in that movie, and you'll see me in the audience in New Jersey, right before school librarian Martha Hickson says, "fifth graders HAVE penises."

The emails exposed were on Saturday, January 10, 2026, from Susan Perez at 11:25 AM, Bonnie Wallace at 12:01 PM (who won the Little v. Llano County case and who is shown speaking in "The Librarians"), Ron Herrin at 4:30 PM, Dan Kleinman (myself who is seen in "The Librarians") at 8:54 PM. Also on Sunday, January 11, 2026, from Deborah Leimbach at 7:52 PM. Also on Monday, January 12, 2026, from Jackie Cherico at 2:12 PM, Mary Moore at 5:36 PM. Also on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, from Teri Hubbard at 7:04 AM, Larry Huston at 7:32 AM.  So the most recently exposed was from Larry Huston on Tuesday, January 13, at 7:32 AM.  Some of those people were doxxed.

They were then published on the internet at "Llano County News Wire" on Friday, January 16, at 9:03 PM.  That leaves a gap of a little over three and a half days, assuming someone knew to file a TPIA request on Tuesday morning.

In Texas, TPIA / FOIA requests take time.  A sample form can be found at NFOIC here: https://www.nfoic.org/texas-sample-foia-request/ where it reads, "The Texas Public Information Act requires that you 'promptly produce' the requested records unless, within 10 days, you have sought an Attorney General’s Opinion." In my experience, that almost always means you'll get a response, if any, on day ten.

The need for the TPIA request to produce emails I submitted and did not otherwise announce publicly was somehow instantly identified.  Then the TPIA request was submitted in record time.  And the records were turned over in absolute record time.  Then they were published.  All that in in a mere three and a half days.  It's impossible without someone on the lookout and someone greasing the wheels, someone from inside Llano ISD.

I don't believe that super fast timeline is possible were it done honestly.  Someone within the school is ratting out the parents to subject them to bullying and ridicule.  In a case where I showed strong evidence that the showing of "The Librarians" may result in continued serious bullying of a parent who needed round-the-clock police protection, now I'm getting bullied by how the school reacted to multiple emails from parents opposing the showing of "The Librarians."  To me, Llano ISD is using bullying to smear my reporting "The Librarians" they intend to show in the school is itself bullying another parent.  It's bullying to protect bullying, with both people being bullied trying to stop children from being harmed by school librarians.

As I said before, there is a potential for a serious problem within either the Board of Trustees or school management, faculty, or employees.

As if knowing something is off and in an apparent effort to allay concerns, "Llano County Wire News" responds to someone suggesting, "Mac Edwards forwards the emails to Tom and the liberals," with the following on Saturday, January 17 at 9:20 AM, "FOIA request. Freedom of information act. They were not forwarded to anyone. They are required by law to respond to a FOIA request".

In my over twenty five years investigating schools and libraries, never has a FOIA requestor ever been tipped off so fast and the FOIA response provided so quickly, then published, then used to ridicule and bully people by doxxing people.  Except one other case.  Recall that mother in the "The Librarians" who got bullied by librarians and needed 24 hour police protection?  She is the only other case I know where they happened so quickly.  She submitted a complaint to an anonymous tip line set up precisely to accept anonymous tips about school books, just to allow the school to act without all the drama that ensues from librarians crying wolf.  The "anonymous" tip was then immediately reported to the school, thence to the school librarian, thence to a political attack dog for American Library Association who filed a FOIA request, got the "anonymous" tip on video, then doxxed the mother leading to weeks of police protection.  The very same mother you will be doxxing and bullying again if you show "The Librarians" in the schools.  Schools have antibullying rules.  Those go out the window if you show this film.

So not only is Llano ISD bullying parents who complained about "The Librarians" again bullying a family who needed police protection, but it has somehow leaked and sped up a FOIA response to bully parents, exactly as was done in the bullying incident in the movie. Librarians are experienced in, even trained in this tactic. It's just happened again in Llano ISD.

Also, Texas Library Association trains librarians to defy TPIA, to violate the law, all to keep the indoctrination of school children by school librarians from the public and from Texas legislators.  Yet, to ridicule and bully parents opposed to ALA's "The Librarians," suddenly the TPIA response is super quick.  See: "School Librarians Train to Violate FOIA Law to Keep Parents In the Dark About S[*]xualizing Children" https://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2022/12/school-librarians-train-to-violate-foia.html

So again, there is a potential for a serious problem within either the Board of Trustees or school management, faculty, or employees.

That's the background for the following TPIA request.

Under the Texas Public Information Act, Tex. Gov’t Code §552.001 et seq., I am requesting an opportunity to obtain copies of public records.

  1. Please produce via PDF in response to me the email I sent you on Saturday, January 10th, 2026 at 9:53 PM, entitled, "Schools Displaying 'The Librarians' Might Renew Bullying of Parents, Presenting Liability."  I want to see it you properly redact the response or if you merely send it back with just the email blacked out.
  2. Please produce via PDF in your response to me the documentation of a TPIA or FOIA request from "Llano County News Wire" or the person running that comprising, as he/she put it, "FOIA request. Freedom of information act. They were not forwarded to anyone. They are required by law to respond to a FOIA request".
  3. Please produce via PDF or audio recording in your response to me any other communications of any form, including verbal, with the person who allegedly submitted a FOIA request as identified in the above question, and restrict the time frame for this search from January 10, 2026 to the present.  Super reasonable.  If personal accounts were used to hide such communication(s) from the public, those documents must be released as well, TPIA doesn't protect them.  If anyone is in a BCC list, those must be identified as well.  BCC is for the emailer's convenience, not a means to bypass TPIA.  If you interpret my words in a cagey way or a way you think is clever to keep me from getting information under the law, then you are violating TPIA §552.001: "POLICY;  CONSTRUCTION (a) .... The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to implement this policy."

Hey, piece of cake.

If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me if the cost will exceed $5.  However, I would also like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest and will contribute significantly to the public’s understanding of how school children are being harmed by American Library Association and subgroups like Texas Library Association or EveryLibrary and by local school districts like Llano ISD that allows political candidates like Leila Green Little to have "The Librarians" shown in the school to use the students to boost her own chances of election--in an election against her husband, no less. (Leila Green Little lost the Little v. Llano County case.) For example, the public might like to know of corruption within the school when parents are being ridiculed and bullied by the release of information used to file TPIA requests and get responses super fast, like occurs only in cases where parents are being bullied for opposing how school librarians harm children per ALA's sixty years of effort to eviscerate parental rights: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PZ2pDhKhRAtlNgR7gek_1kcdGFoskHpa/view?usp=sharing .  This information is not being sought for commercial purposes.

The Texas Public Information Act requires that you “promptly produce” the requested records unless, within 10 days, you have sought an Attorney General’s Opinion.  If you expect a significant delay in responding to this request, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.

If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.

Thank you for considering my request.

[NOTE: This email has been published here: "TPIA / FOIA Request 001: Llano ISD Board of Trustees" https://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2026/01/tpia-foia-request-001-llano-isd-board.html ]

Sincerely,

Dan Kleinman, Owner of SafeLibraries® brand library educational services


NOTE ADDED 19 JANUARY 2026:

On Facebook, "Llano County News Wire" has deleted my polite comment asking to see the FOIA request and the response.  I even gave fair notice that I was one of those whose emails were published.  Then I was blocked from the page completely.  

This tells me I'm over the target that some collusion has occurred.  Such collusion is likely to have violated ethics codes for Texas boards of trustees.

"Llano County News Wire" did, however, respond to my comment, and that is still online.  You can see a response to me but my comment to which the response pertains is gone.

Here is the "Llano County News Wire" response to the comment of mine that was deleted:
Dan Kleinman public information request or freedom of information request. You call it what you want, it does the same thing. It said I would like to request copies of any and all emails sent to any and all school board members and school personnel in regards to a film being shown at the high school auditorium on January 24, 2026.
So "Llano County News Wire" evaded the question completely then deleted my comment and blocked me entirely.  To me, that's smoke, and there's fire somewhere.  I'll do my best to report on that fire.

—
URL of this page: 





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Location: 1400 Oatman St, Llano, TX 78643, USA

Saturday, January 10, 2026

Schools Displaying 'The Librarians' Might Renew Bullying of Parents, Presenting Liability

Schools displaying the Sarah Jessica Parker film called, "The Librarians," might renew the bullying of parents by librarians and supporters, thereby exposing the schools to potential civil liability (like negligence or intentional infliction of emotional distress) or criminal liability (if there's incitement of illegal acts like threats).

Here is a post I just made in five parts on X about Llano High School holding a showing of the American Library Association agitprop:

1)
Llano High School will show "The Librarians," agitprop by American Library Association to convince adults to allow school librarians to continue indoctrinating and s*xualizing children. It re-exposes a family to continued bullying, thereby exposing Llano ISD to liability.

2)
But Llano ISD will do nothing, fearing Leila Little and Suzette Baker who both sued the county. They are terrified of being sued by either of these folks, so they don’t want to cancel this event. The film is one-sided—the side of ALA that targets kids. 

3)
For an example of what they want the community to see, Dwight Eisenhower is misquoted to give the appearance he opposed "book banning." The rest of his sentence/statement ALA left out since it showed it’s not censorship to remove inappropriate books. It’s fundamentally deceptive.

4)
The family bullied in and shown in the film needed round-the-clock police protection. She got death threats—real ones unlike the flimsy one described—that included a brick and a note in her mailbox. If Llano ISD shows that film, it risks bullying that family yet again.

5)
#LlanoCounty #LlanoISD #txlege

FYI about potential imminent harm done at Llano IDS if the school goes forward with displaying "The Librarians." It’s free on @PBS Feb 6, so just wait a week.

@GregAbbott_TX @DanPatrick @KenPaxtonTX @tedcruz @JohnCornyn 

@threadreaderapp unroll

--- 30 ---

The initial post in the thread is shown here and please repost:
I will be sending this post to the school administrators who could stop the showing and prevent the potential liability, let alone the agitprop nature of the film.

In full disclosure, I appear in the film as does Bonnie Wallace and many others from Llano County.  

Recall Bonnie Wallace won big in Little v. Llano County, so inappropriate books may be legally removed from library shelves, and yet again, everything American Library Association has been saying is false.  That's likely why ALA showed her but left her unnamed in "The Librarians."

The graphic in the upper right is sourced from the Facebook page for Llano County TX Rants & Raves where the text reads:

This documentary is about librarians who are suing cities, counties and school boards to keep harmful content. Suzette Baker who sued Llano County is featured. Any taxpayer who wants to protect minors from harmful content including drawings of couples having sex, sex organs, and more should email (or call) the superintendent and all school board members and the HS principal and express their discontent about this documentary being featured at Llano HS on Jan 24. This email (or call) should be sent immediately.

Who can give me the school email? 
mailto:medwards@llanoisd.org
mailto:rick.tisdale@cadencebank.com
mailto:codyfly@benekeith.com
mailto:paul.hull@hitssllc.com
mailto:grant@inmansbbq.com
mailto:jeffk@arrowheadbanktexas.com
mailto:rwilson@llanoisd.org
mailto:spatrick@llanoisd.org 
Just look at the upper left hand corner about the war on books- tells you everything you need to know! There is no Reader Foundation only a reading foundation on the web. I'm trying to find out if this Reading foundation has a chapter here in Llano. I find it suspicious that this film would be shown in an election year with the Littles running to split the ticket and unseat Moss. Lord God I pray you will expose this backdoor move by a perverse ideology against our children and community. Amen and so be it! 
In small letters at the bottom is: 
LCLSF.org. This is Leila Little's foundation. We all need to send an email (or call) and tell the ISD that we are opposed to the HS hosting this. 
It is clearly a political rally!
Source: 
Interesting!  So it seems it's also a political trick to get elected by the losing party in Little v. Llano County!  Interesting!  Husband and wife are running against each other so one of then gets the seat!  Interesting!  Using an entire school district for their personal gain!  Interesting!
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Location: 2509 TX-16, Llano, TX 78643, USA
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