Knocking It Down In the Library

"printing child pornography"

Watch this news report, read the transcript.  Crimes like public masturbation (visible in the news broadcast) and child pornography are just fine in American libraries and the library directors could care less—watch, you'll see/hear—letting the criminals off with a slap on the wrist, at most.

And the incoming American Library Association [ALA] President Sari Feldman runs Cuyahoga County Public Library that is reportedly loaded with crime, so we can expect another year with ALA doing nothing about crime in libraries:

TRANSCRIPT OF CARL MONDAY'S INVESTIGATIVE REPORT ON LIBRARY CRIME

Child: And there’s mountains way over here.

Adult: Right normally you float over the water…

Reporter: For 6-year-old Colin Beckford, the library is a lifelong learning experience.

Adult: But if you went way down deep, there's mountains way down under the water. Cool, huh?

Reporter: A seemingly safe and secure environment that puts his mom at ease.

Child's Mother: We've never had any problems or any issues.

Reporter: After all, there are security systems in place, and a security guard on duty, and a screening system to foil what the Cleveland library says is its biggest crime, the theft of books.

Library Speaker: That's our biggest thing is people tryin’ to take books out of here, or movies.

Reporter: But book theft may be the least of the library's security problems. We reviewed incident reports from libraries in Cleveland and throughout Cuyahoga County. Just the past six months we found more than 50 cases of violence, pornography and sex. A patron robbed at gunpoint, a man downloading and printing child porn, used condoms found on the computer room floor, teens having sex on a sink in the men's room, teens having oral sex, male fondles self while looking at a thirteen-year-old girl.

Library Security: We have a spectrum of problem behaviors, some of which is criminal, majority of it is not.

Reporter: Former FBI agent John Dunn runs security at the county library's twenty eight branches. 

Library Security: We have I think all the typical ingredients that attach to having almost unlimited public access. 

Reporter: That includes public access to the computer for patrons like twenty-three-year-old Mike Cooper. What do you look up on the Internet?

Masturbator: Nothing really. Um, my sports scores, stuff like that.

Reporter: Sports, pornography, stuff like that.

Masturbator: No. Why?

Reporter: I don't know why. You tell me why. 

Masturbator: I don't look up pornography, so no.

Reporter: For some pursuing the porn sites is a favorite pastime at local libraries, sometimes with young children just a few feet away. Our undercover cameras and library incident reports back us up. But sometimes it's more than just looking. It's a public library all right but it's not a place where patrons should be acting out their private fantasies. Can you think of any time when a patron sitting at a computer and watching porn and masturbating would be acceptable behavior?

Library Security: Absolutely not.

Reporter: Criminal behavior?

Library Security: It could be. Certainly, absolutely.

Another masturbator simply asked to leave.

Reporter: You ever perform a sexual act at the library?

Masturbator: No, I have not.

Reporter: What if I told you we got video of you performing a sexual act?

Masturbator: Well, it wasn't me.

Reporter: We can't really show you but that's Mike Cooper pleasuring himself while watching porn at the Berea library just across the room from the children's section. Take our word for it, and his. You just reached out and grabbed yourself and started having sex?

Masturbator: Huh. I, I did what I ... I wasn't thinking. I made a mistake.

Reporter: We've seen adults looking up the sites and actually having sex in the library.

Bystander: Oh my God. That's horrible!

Reporter: Based on the fact that there are guys like you out there doing this kind of thing, you think parents ought to be a little more careful about letting their kids at the library alone?

Masturbator: Yeah. Yes.

Reporter: I mean if you were a parent wouldn't you be afraid of a guy like you?

Masturbator: I'm not a psycho predator or anything, um. Yeah, I would be afraid.

Reporter: If Mike Cooper doesn't trust himself, should we? Well, apparently the Berea library does. Was he pleasuring himself when you saw him last time?

Library Director: Uh, yeah.

Reporter: Berea Library manager Cindy Bereznay says they caught Cooper in the act a few years ago.

Library Director: I told him I would have to call the police if it continued.

Reporter: And Cooper ran out of the building.

Library Security: We want people here. We leave people alone. We do not bother people unless and until they create an issue that puts them where they're disrupting our mission or the ability of other people to use the library or they fall afoul of our rules and our policies. 

Reporter: Apparently, masturbating inside the library didn't break any rules. Cooper began returning to the library about six months ago. No one stopped him. Why would you let a guy like that back in the library?

Library Director: Well, I mean like I said, I mean you, you’d like to give people other chances, so…

Reporter: But this is a guy who's performing a sexual act at a library. Why would you allow him back in the library?

Library Director: Well, it was several years ago and I wasn't aware, I mean, that he had any criminal record or that it was continuing.

Masturbator: I didn't think I was doing anything wrong at the time and now I understand that I was.

Reporter: You didn't think having sex underneath the table at the library was wrong?

Masturbator: At the time, no. Now, I admit that I was wrong. There's nothing else that I can say.

Reporter: While Cooper's anti-social behavior should be a concern to all parents, the unemployed porn site user has his own folks to deal with now. You live with your parents?

Masturbator: Yes.

Reporter: What do you think they're going to think when they see this?

Masturbator: They're going to kill me.

Masturbator's Father: I don't like you getting in my face either or my son's face.

Masturbator's Mother: Please stop. Please stop.

Reporter: But not before taking their anger out on us. What is your son doing out in the public, in a public place, exposing himself and … [Father attacks Reporter]. [beep beep]

Masturbator's Father: I said get out of here. [crosstalk 05:19]

Masturbator's Mother: Stop. Stop.

Masturbator's Father: Get that fuck now! You want me to take that thing away from you and stick it [crosstalk 05:24]

Reporter: Threatening behavior at the computer inside your neighborhood library and at the Cooper residence.

Masturbator's Father: I'm a combat vet and if you ever bring my God (beep) [inaudible 05:38] you, you son-of-a (beep) I will and you won't (beep) like it.

Reporter: Well by law libraries aren't required to filter out pornography on their computers. [SafeLibraries: Not true.] Generally it's up to each library system to set up its own guidelines. Of course all libraries must take the appropriate action to make sure that children aren't exposed to Internet porn at the library. But as we'll find out tomorrow at 11:00 that's to always the case.

News Anchor 1: Now is this a case where more security might be advantageous?

Reporter: No. We're already spending a lot of money on security so far this year. Actually this entire year we'll spend about $316,000 at the county libraries and 2.3 million at the Cleveland public libraries for security alone so we are spending some cash.

News Anchor 2: The people there don't feel legally empowered to throw somebody out for this!

Reporter: Many don't and that's what we'll talk about tomorrow.

News Anchor 2: All right, Carl. Thank you. We will see you tomorrow night for more.

Source:

• "Knocking It Down In the Library (link)," by the3rdstream's channel, YouTube, 16 December 2006.

URL of this page: safelibraries.blogspot.com/2015/02/knocking-it-down-in-library.html

On Twitter: @ALALibrary @CarlMonday_19 @CuyahogaLib @Sari_Feldman

Follow @SafeLibraries

Library Propaganda and Fraud Recognition Exercise

It is time to present a library propaganda and fraud recognition exercise.  I have been writing about such topics for a while, so here's a chance to test your skills.  Watch the below news video containing public library propaganda and evidencing the potential for fraudulent and/or criminal activity by the library.  See if you can pick out the false, misleading, incriminating statements yourselves and comment below with what you found. 

Bonus points:  See if you can pick out the statement that is a direct result of the American Library Association's opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act and that adherence to leaves children exposed to harm nationwide.

Double bonus points:  See if you can use this "Automated Search of Commitments" to see which libraries are committing CIPA fraud and perhaps committing a crime or misdemeanor.

"'I don't really see it as being a loaded gun kind of situation,' said Jan Bryant the Head Librarian at the Muskogee Public Library."  I do, and obviously local citizens like Thomas Faulk and Steve Rathbun do, and such statements by the head librarian are intended as a deception.  I ask police and media investigators to contact me so I can explain.

"After all, viewing adult pornography is legal...."  Correct, but a public library may legally exclude it.

Here's the story and the corresponding news video to evaluate for propaganda and potential fraudulent and/or criminal activity by the library, then please comment below: 

• "Library Internet Access EXXXposed," by Marla Carter, KJRH-TV, 12 May 2011.

Follow @SafeLibraries

Molested Children in Los Angeles Libraries May Be Direct Result of Governmental Malfeasance; Los Angeles Times Interview of SafeLibraries Reveals Government Was Warned Against Employing Privacy Screens

Privacy screens do not stop
child molestation in public libraries

Molested children in Los Angeles public libraries may be a direct result of governmental malfeasance.  The government was warned about the failure of "privacy screens" to protect children from harm, provided with incontrovertible evidence, but the government choose to use privacy screens anyway.  When in the future a child gets molested in the Los Angeles Public Library, it may be the result of someone viewing porn behind a worthless privacy screen.  The city may be exposed to significant legal liability, especially where it was warned ahead of time of the likelihood of that very crime.  I did the most recent warning.  And past media reports also provided warning.  Future litigants should contact me for assistance.

Having sent a letter to the Los Angeles City Council, I published it in a comment at the well-respected LibraryStuff blog that made it visible to many.  Possibly as a result, I was contacted by the Los Angeles Times for information relating to this matter.  The next day, the following was published:

A 2003 Supreme Court decision said public libraries that receive federal money have the authority to install filters that block pornography and other obscene material that may be harmful to children until a patron asks for it to be unblocked.

Dan Kleinman, who runs the website SafeLibraries.org, said in a letter to city officials that such filters are necessary to keep library visitors safe.  Privacy screens aren't enough, he said.

In an interview, Kleinman, who lives in New Jersey, pointed out that libraries already have book selection policies and should have similar guidelines that determine what people can view online.

Excerpt source:  "Los Angeles Libraries Grapple with Online Pornography; After a Recent Outcry About Online Pornography at a Chinatown Branch Library, Los Angeles has been Working to Protect Bystanders While Not Infringing on Computer Users' 1st Amendment Rights," by Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 13 April 2011, p.AA-3, hyperlink in original.

Look at that sentence, "Privacy screens aren't enough, he said."  That's right.  And I was far more specific in the letter to the city, even including a hyperlink to a news story of an investigation of privacy screens in a nearby library and the many children molested there:

And "privacy screens" are useless, except as political cover to make an excuse for why filters should not be used.  Here’s a story from the San Francisco Bay area that may convince you, and watch what happens when the library director gets caught in a lie: "Porn, Sex Crimes At Libraries; I-Team Investigation," KGO, 29 Nov 2006 ( http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=i_team&id=4808374 ).

Privacy screen on library computer showing how
ineffective the screen is for blocking what's displayed.

See what I wrote about this I-Team Investigation at my See For Yourself page:

Jane Light:
"Avert your eyes"

San Francisco Bay Area, CA:  "Porn, Sex Crimes At Libraries; I-Team Investigation," KGO, 29 Nov 2006,  "[T]he Martin Luther King Library has a problem with pornography.  They have no rule against viewing photographs or full-screen sex videos from Internet sites, even with children nearby.  Chief librarian Jane Light says it's a matter of free speech.  ....  ABC7's Dan Noyes: 'I've seen the [privacy] screens and I see how they work and the stuff is visible from behind.  You can see everything.' Jane Light...: 'So you can avert your eyes.'  ....  San Jose's police blotter over the past year lists several arrests for child porn at the library, at least ten cases of child molestation or other sex crimes involving kids and several cases of men viewing porn and performing a lewd act, right at the terminal.  ....  Sgt. John Laws, San Jose library police: 'It showed him sitting at the computer terminal and ... masturbating.'  ....  Marcia Stacke, Child Quest International: 'You know, sometimes I wonder if we're just too afraid to be, I don't know, sued in this country.  We've got to step out and protect our kids.  Enough is enough.'"

And look at what's directly below that:

Los Angeles, CA:  "Lawless Libraries?," CBS 2, 16 Nov 2006 (An anonymous library security officer warns, "I absolutely wouldn't send my kids to any branch in the city of L.A. because they are unsafe."  A librarian said, "I think that it's gonna take somebody getting killed before management really pays attention.  That's how bad it has gotten."  "[T]he library wants to keep this information under wraps.  'The management wants to cover this up because they don't want people to think the libraries are unsafe but all you have to do is talk to any library staff member and they'll tell you how safe it is,' the anonymous officer says.")

Now given the specific warnings the government was given, given the warnings contained incidents of child molestation, given even the librarians themselves spoke out against crimes, in LA itself, no less, it seems to me the government has opened the door to significant liability for deciding to allow pornography in public libraries claiming fear of litigation while at the same time choosing known ineffective means that are falsely named privacy screens and ignoring the litigation threat from molested children and the like.

I checked the law that created the library to see if it contained language that would indicate the provision of unlimited pornography was outside that law (ultra vires).  The Reference Services of the LA Law Library informed me as follows:

The establishment of the Los Angeles City Public Library rests on the Los Angeles City Charter, Article V Departments, beginning at section 530.  This can be found on the Internet through the web site of American Legal Publishing (http://www.amlegal.com/library/ca/losangeles.shtml) which provides editorial and distribution services under contract to the city.  You can also reach the same web site from the City of Los Angeles web site (http://www.cityofla.org/SubMenu/CityCharterRulesCodes/index.htm).

I checked that section and more.  The language, however, did not define the purposes for the library, so that was a dead end in this case.

Next I looked at library policy.  The "Mission Statement" says, "The Los Angeles Public Library provides free and easy access to information, ideas, books and technology that enrich, educate and empower every individual in our city's diverse communities."  Pornography of the kind viewed on the millions of the Internet's pornographic web sites is not "informative."  It contains ideas, but of the carnal nature, not those that "enrich, educate and empower every individual."  Allowing pornography exceeds the library's own mission as stated in its own words.

The government created the library.  Although the enabling law was silent, allowing the library to exceed its own stated mission may make the government vulnerable to liability for harm caused as a result of criminal acts occasioned by its permissive action.  If the government is so concerned about lawsuits, and it said it was concerned about First Amendment suits for failure to allow pornography, then perhaps the government ought to reconsider its decision to jettison filters in favor of privacy screens.  Privacy screens simply do not work, as the following graphic illustrates:

This public library patron is viewing pornography
on a computer having a "privacy screen" of the
very same kind as shown in a graphic above.
Notice how little the "privacy screen" blocks.

And let me add this.  The Los Angeles Times reaching out to me for my input on how some in the library community will mislead those in government is particularly noteworthy.  Why?  Because it was the Los Angeles Times itself who had already been misled by those in the library community, so my point was essentially already made.  You see, the American Library Association [ALA] used the Los Angeles Times to propagandize about a low quality map of "censorship" that it plagiarized, claiming the map as its own.  For specific details including the older Los Angeles Times story, see "How ALA Plagiarism Becomes Truth Through the Media Lens; SafeLibraries in USA Today."  (Months later, the ALA plagiarized that very USA Today story, see "SafeLibraries in ALA Media Again; Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom Plagiarizes Story ALA Planted in USA Today and Miller-McCune Magazine.")

Is Los Angeles exposed to litigation
risk for crimes in public libraries?

So tell me, in comments below, what you think of this opinion of mine.  Do you think the government has opened the door to serious litigation risks?  If a child is molested by a porn viewer using a worthless privacy screen, is the government in any way responsible for its decision to use such privacy screens given the knowledge it had of repeated and serious criminality, etc., and despite the library lying to the government by claiming privacy screens were effective ("Library officials told the committee that terminals have screens that are hard to view from angles....")?

This is an interesting matter, is it not?  Not to potential crime victims, of course.

Now, with due respect to US Copyright §107 Fair Use, to further the education of the readers, and due to the original link being no longer valid, I reproduce below relevant information.  Notice all the people speaking anonymously out of fear, including librarians.  Notice the library crimes remained hidden until CBS 2 News did an investigation and reported the results.

Remember I used the word "malfeasance"?  With a history of crime like shown by CBS 2 News, and with the other information at hand to the government, is it not malfeasance to allow unlimited pornography in public libraries that will likely produce more public library crime? 

Lawless Libraries?

by CBS 2 News

CBS2 Los Angeles

16 November 2006

(CBS) LOS ANGELES - Libraries are thought of as a safe haven where kids can escape into a world of books.  After school they're packed with children biding the time until their parents get out of work.  But take a look at who may be sitting next to them…


Our undercover camera caught this man using the library computer to view pornography—right out in the open!  And that's just the first chapter in a long list of crimes we found—along with a warning from this library security officer who wants to remain anonymous. 


"I absolutely wouldn't send my kids to any branch in the city of L.A. because they are unsafe," he said.


Hundreds of pages of reports obtained exclusively by CBS 2 News show what's going on in the L.A. city libraries. 


We found a threat to kill a 13-year-old student.  People carrying concealed weapons, which were confiscated at the library.  Stabbings.  Syringes.  And librarians being attacked. 


"It was the most horrible experience I've ever had in the workplace," said one librarian who also wanted to remain anonymous.  She says she was assaulted by a teenager and there was no one to stop it.


"There was no, no security.  No assistance when I needed it.  And it was very ugly."


"I think it's gonna take somebody getting killed before management really pays attention.  That's how bad it has gotten."


Wendy McPherson has worked as a librarian in the Los Angeles city system for eight years and she has seen it all. 


"There are some branches that have gotten so unsafe that there should be security there on all hours that it's open," McPherson said.


We also discovered libraries are havens for sex. We watched one man use the library computer to watch porn. 


Incident reports also detail consensual sex in the bathrooms—groping between the book aisles and lone sex at the computers.  Our security officer says the library wants to keep this information under wraps.


"The management wants to cover this up because they don't want people to think the libraries are unsafe but all you have to do is talk to any library staff member and they'll tell you how safe it is," the anonymous officer says.


Overall, we found incidents are going up. 683 incidents reported in 2005 and 646 already reported in just the first seven months of this year.
  The numbers break the myth—according to this librarian—that libraries are a safe place for kids.


"Parents need to understand that they need to accompany their children when they come to visit the library," the librarian says.


Ironically the plan was for safer libraries this year.  That's because in February library security was consolidated under the city's general services police department.  Hundreds of officers were added citywide.  But some librarians say security has actually gotten worse.


Unarmed library security officers—are now backed up by armed officers from the office of public safety.  But besides answering library calls, these armed officers answer calls from 1,500 facilities citywide.  Critics say the two departments are spread so thin—there's actually less security. 


"How safe do you think the libraries are?"


Police Chief Gary Newton defends the consolidation. 


"I would say to a parent the libraries are safe.  Statistics show there are only about 25 incident reports generated per million visitors."


He claims incidents are actually down—although he doesn't have numbers to back it up.  But he candidly admits resources are stretched thin.


"In a perfect world, there would be more public safety staff to service our libraries but the reality is there's limited budget money within the city and we do the best we can with what we have," Newton says.


The chief is looking for more money.  But until then, L.A.'s youth looking to learn in the libraries may be getting an unwanted education on crime.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc.  All Rights Reserved.)


NOTE ADDED 16 APRIL 2011:

The decision to allow unfettered porn in public libraries by using the excuse of moving the computers and using useless privacy screens has become the butt of jokes.  As one said, the inmates are running the asylum:

Argus Hamilton

Argus Hamilton:

The L.A. Public Library moved its computers across the room so people watching porn aren't visible to children at the checkout desk.  City officials said people have a constitutional right to watch porn in a library.  Roman Polanski is starting to think it's safe to come home. 

This quote can also be found here:  "Column: L.A. Library Policy has Polanski Excited," by Argus Hamilton, The Daily Courier, 13 April 2011.

Banned Library:

I really have nothing to say about this.  Simply another case of the inmates running the asylum.  Why not just put up a little red curtain to the adult computer lab?  Hell, we already check IDs at the door in some way or another.  I only have one question:  When do we get to have liquor licenses?

NOTE ADDED 17 APRIL 2011:

For appearing in the Los Angeles Times article, I have come under withering ad hominem attack.  See: "Safe Libraries dot Org?," by Russell Smith, The Hollywood Librarian, 17 April 2011.  I have left the following response that is, as of this writing, not visible due to normal comment moderation:

I have a response. 

You said, "They believe that libraries should install filters that will block out pornographic material." 

That is incorrect.  My "beliefs" are irrelevant.  Instead, SafeLibraries provides accurate information to communities and their leaders so that they can make informed decisions.  The information provided by some is false.  This is not just my opinion.  The information is so false that even library directors specifically call out the "dogma" of those who seek to mislead communities.  See, for example, "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" at http://tinyurl.com/ALAdogma or see "Librarians are Guardians of a Trust, by Jo Ellen Ringer, Notus Public Library Director and Guest Writer" at http://tinyurl.com/JoEllenRinger

You said, "The head of this organization is a man named Dan Klineman. The LA Times reports that he wrote a letter to 'city officials.' In this letter he said that 'privacy screens are not enough,' and that 'filters are necessary to keep library visitors safe.' I must confess that Mr. Klineman needs the services of a librarian to make his website more user friendly. It's really a mess. Nowhere on the website was I able to discern if Mr. Klineman has a library degree." 

Setting aside the misspelling of my name, my appearance in the LA Times is discussed, then your very first reaction is an ad hominem one to attack me personally for having an ugly web site and for lacking a library degree.  People who make personal attacks broadcast that they have no substantive argument on which to stand.  Indeed several paragraphs are devoted just to ridiculing me.

You said, "For instance, a google search on 'breast cancer' might filter out the majority of the information." 

As it turns out, that is part of the dogma exposed by the library community as false.  Even an ACLU expert now admits modern filters no longer block health related information.  And note, I back up my statements with facts, not personal attacks.  See, for example, "ACLU v. Gonzales, E.D. Pa., March 2007."  http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/07D0346P.pdf

You said, "Mr. Klineman compared book selection, or collection management as it is sometimes called, to Internet policing and said they were basically the same thing. When I read this in Ms. Linthicum’s story, I was aghast." 

I am not surprised to hear of this claimed surprise.  Perhaps you should read or reread US v. ALA.  Here's the URL for anyone to see what the Court said about this, and it aligns: http://laws.findlaw.com/us/539/194.html  It also aligns with what Eugene Volokh said, "However, Volokh said the city could have a plausible argument for banning pornography in its public libraries. 'Clearly the city is entitled to decide what books to buy for libraries,' Volokh said."  http://www.bhcourier.com/article/Local/Local/Los_Angeles_Council_To_Consider_Porn_In_City_Libraries/75621 

You said, "If you go to Safe Libraries dot Org's homepage, you are greeted in big, bright, blue lettering with a question, 'Are Children Safe in Public Libraries?' Then directly below this question, in smaller print is the answer, Children Are Not Safe in Public Libraries. In my opinion, before somebody starts to tell someone how to run a library, that somebody should have a degree in Library Sciences." 

Interesting opinion.  Fortunately, the ALA's former 40 year de facto leader, Judith Krug, has a library degree.  She's the one who said, "I get very concerned when we start hearing people who want to convert this country into a safe place for children.  I am adult.  I want available what I need to see."  http://www.safelibraries.org/oak_lawn_library_vows_to_keep_playboy_on_shelf23jun2005by_jo_napolitano.htm  I feel assured that I would have the full backing of the 40 year de facto leader who held a library degree to say children are not safe in public libraries.  Claiming I need a library degree to make that statement that the ALA's own former leader would make is just another ad hominem attack due to a lack of a substantive basis for why people should follow ALA dogma instead of legal precedent allowing a community to protect its own children from harm.

That said, thank you for writing about me.

.

Anything Goes for America if Seattle Public Library Director Susan Hildreth's Nomination is Confirmed for the Institute of Museum and Library Services

Susan Hildreth

"Anything goes" is coming to American libraries if the nominee for the Institute of Museum and Library Services [IMLS] Director is confirmed.   Susan Hildreth has been nominated for this post.  N1, N2, N3.  She is the American Library Association's [ALA] Freedom To Read Foundation [FTRF] Treasurer.  She is also the Seattle Public Library's director.  She should not be confirmed.  Here's why:

Susan Hildreth's ALA is an Anything-Goes Organization Out of the Mainstream

The ALA, in which Susan Hildreth is prominently positioned, is an "anything goes" organization.  As Will Manley of the ALA put it:

It would appear that in the case of keeping children away from Internet p[]rnography, it is the library profession, not the Supreme Court, which has distanced itself from the mainstream.  Our profession's 'anything goes' view of intellectual freedom simply does not square with the values of the communities we serve.  N4.

Will Manley asks:

Why is there such a disconnect between our profession and everyone else on this particular issue?  More specifically, how could we have allowed ourselves to be put in such a publicly disadvantageous position as defending the right of children to access p[]rnography?  The answer is simple and ironic.  Our profession preaches intellectual freedom but does not tolerate its practice within our own ranks.  Librarians imbued with common sense and good political judgment are afraid to espouse even a moderate position that advocates the limited use of filters.  There is a great fear within librarianship of being branded a censor.  No librarian wants to be wounded by that bullet.  That's why we can never really initiate an open and honest dialogue among ourselves on issues involving even the most obvious need for limitations of intellectual freedom.  As a result, the extremists always dominate, and we end up with an "anything goes" official policy that distances the library profession from mainstream America.  N4.

Has an out-of-the-mainstream extremist just been nominated for IMLS Director?  She is from the FTRF, after all.  But let us look at the library that she directs to examine this issue further.  She likely has more sway there as director than in the ALA as treasurer of the FTRF.

Susan Hildreth's Library Approves Internet P0rnography and Opposes Filtering

Susan Hildreth directs the Seattle Public Library.  The library refuses to use Internet filters to cut back on the p0rnography that may attract crime.  N5.  In fact, the library welcomes p0rnography: it's—"okay"!  A shocking statement, yes, but here is the basis for that observation:

"Each individual to have access to constitutionally protected material," Seattle Public Library Spokesperson Andra Addison said.

In Seattle, it's open access to everyone. As long as it's legal, it's okay, even if it's explicit. They're not about censorship, they're about protecting user privacy and confidentiality.

"The library believes it's the right and responsibility of parents and legal guardians to determine and monitor their own children's use," Addison said.

And that's where it comes down to choice: choice for parents, choice for the library.  Libraries try to walk that line, especially since there is a wide range of what people consider explicit.  But all will tell you, filters can be a false sense of security.

"You can be vigilant, and you can be proactive but you cannot prevent it," Rosemary said.  N6.

Susan Hildreth's Outdated Dogma on Internet Filters and Public Library P0rn

Dean Marney

A "false sense of security"?  Does Susan Hildreth believe that?  Yes.  As she put it, "Internet filtering is not 100 percent effective at all.  They're not able to deal with all the wild and crazy sites that are put up at every minute of the day."  N7.

Is it true that filtering is not effective and that legal p0rnography may not be kept out of libraries?  Of course not.  It may be what Susan Hildreth believes, the person nominated to lead the IMLS, but it is not true.  Ask library director Dean Marney, for example.  He revealed that the ALA uses outdated dogma to control local libraries, and good filters work fine.  See, "Library P[]rn Removal Roadmap; NCRL Director Dean Marney Details How to Legally Remove Legal P[]rn from Public Library Computers and Advises that the ALA Relies on Outdated Dogma."  N8.

Susan Hildreth is using outdated dogma as well.  She won't change when she gets to the IMLS.

The Seattle Public Library Run by Susan Hildreth is Riddled with Crime

And what has come of Susan Hildreth's anything-goes policy?  This is an important question because, as IMLS Director, she may bring the ALA's anything-goes, out-of-the-mainstream and outdated dogma to the national stage.  How has the Seattle Public Library been affected by this policy with which Susan Hildreth agrees?  It has been riddled with crime, that's how.  Look:

KIRO7 Library Misconduct
Click for Video

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.
....
In all, 1,323 conduct violations were substantiated just in 2008, a disproportionate number at the Central Library branch.
....
According to Seattle Library Administrator Marilynn Gardner, nobody has to worry about safety at any branch.  N9.

Right.  Nobody has to worry about safety in a library with thousands of incidents, N9, and where management believes viewing p0rnography is "okay," N6.  No wonder Seattle librarians think there's a "sort of 1984 atmosphere at the library these days."  N10.

The library simply refuses to use Internet filters to prevent p0rnography, N5; indeed, it believes p0rnography in the public library is "okay."  N6.  And the crimes continue by the hundreds.  N11.  Hundreds!  Does anyone see a problem with that?  Does anyone want Susan Hildreth to use her position as IMLS director to bring that to American libraries?

Loss of E-Rate Funding Never Restored; Hildreth Says Go Fish to the Poor

For those who do not know, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Internet filters in public libraries are perfectly legal.  N12.  To get E-Rate funding for "Internet Access," all you need do is use Internet filtering.  The Seattle Public Library used to get money for "Internet Access," but 2003 was the last year as a result of the library's refusal to use Internet filters.  N13.  At least that's better than the nearby King County Library System that is defrauding the E-Rate program of over $1,000,000.  N14. 

Does anyone in the Seattle community know that the Seattle Public Library is intentionally turning down funding it used to get, simply because p0rnography is "okay"?  Has Susan Hildreth, struggling for funding for the library, N15, done anything to restore the lost E-Rate funding?  No.  Instead, the library will shut for a week.  N15.  Apparently, ALA politics trumps local interests.  "[F]or those who aren't familiar with our digital collection, this is a good time to learn how to download books, movies and music, since they will be available during the closure," said Susan Hildreth.  N15.

Librarians, always decrying the "digital divide," N16, suddenly advise people to "learn how to download."  N15.  Will poor populations have computers at home to download during the week?  She could have obtained E-Rate funding by properly filtering the computers but chooses instead to shut the library for a week.  It's just more evidence of Hildreth's ideological bent.  Obviously she cares more about the p0rn people than about the poor people.  Is that IMLS material?

Susan Hildreth Frightens Librarians Into Silence

Remember from above how Will Manley revealed librarians are afraid to speak out for fear of what the ALA might do?  Guess who Seattle Public Library librarians fear?  IMLS director nominee Susan Hildreth:

[M]any librarians feel unrepresented by management, and some fear retribution for speaking their minds against new policies and restructuring.

....

When asked why she didn't include a librarian on the committee to provide perspectives of what day-to-day SPL employees need or believe should be added to service, Hildreth says she didn't want an internal perspective to influence the committee.  "That's why we don't have [library] board members on the committee," she says.

The advisory committee isn't the only place where librarians feel silenced, though.  In recent months, SPL employees have taken to anonymously posting comments on blogs to air their grievances about recent shifts in policy and what they perceive as a newfound institutional inattentiveness to the needs of many patrons.  SPL employees stormed the web in protest when the December 30 edition of American Libraries magazine praised Hildreth and the library board for being "inspiring" and "ambitious."

The Stranger

A number of librarians have contacted The Stranger anonymously because they think the public needs to be informed that they are unhappy with SPL leadership.  Common complaints include anger at the creation of a new level of middle management while entry-level positions are cut and hours are shortened; a lack of librarian input on planning, restructuring, and budget decisions; fear of retribution for negative comments (even if the comments are delivered internally, through proper channels); a lack of communication with the library board; and a long-term plan to replace qualified librarians with volunteers and paraprofessionals.

....

Librarians have their own hopes for [Mayor] McGinn.  The mayor doesn't have much official power over the library-he approves the budget and appoints new members to five-year terms on the five-person library board-but they would like him to advocate for them.  One librarian says, "It's hard for someone in my position not to fantasize about the mayor pulling Susan Hildreth aside at some future meeting and saying, 'I hear your staff is not at all happy with how things are being run lately.  Not enough communication?  Something about bullies?  Might [be worth] watching.'  It'd be nice to imagine there was pressure, however subtle, from above, for her to clean house a bit."  N16.

Wow.  Her own librarians are afraid of Susan Hildreth, and now she's going to be the IMLS director.  Wow.

Conclusion

How ALA and ALA Affiliate Bullies
Get It Done

If Susan Hildreth becomes IMLS director, ALA politics will trump national interests, just like they trumped local Seattle interests with Susan Hildreth at the helm.  She can clearly steer national funding the ALA's way.  N17.  I am certain she will steer national policy the ALA's way as well.  Communities may suffer as a direct result.

I strongly oppose approving Susan Hildreth as IMLS director, and I urge people to contact their leaders [U.S. Capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121].  For example, urge Senator John McCain to oppose Susan Hildreth as IMLS director.  Especially tell members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee before December 1.  N18.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will be holding a full committee markup at 10am on Wednesday, December 1.  On the agenda for this markup, among other issues, the committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Susan Hildreth to be the director of the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS).  N18.

And, given what Will Manley (and The Stranger) said about librarians being afraid to speak out for fear of being labeled a censor (like the ALA labels all library patrons who raise concerns, N19), comments below may be left anonymously.  Here's your chance.  Speak out before the ALA policy that has made the Seattle Public Library crime riddled and fear wracked becomes national policy.  The ALA monitors this blog so your comments will be noticed.

End Notes

N1:  "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 9/29/10," by Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, 29 September 2010.

N2:  "Hildreth To Be Nominated as IMLS Director," by David Rapp, Library Journal, 30 September 2010.

N3:  "President Nominates Former Public Library Association President for IMLS Director," by Jenni Terry, (ALA) American Libraries, 30 September 2010.

N4:  "Intellectual Freedom Begins at Home," by Will Manley, (ALA) Booklist, 1 October 2003.

N5:  "Public Use of the Internet Policy," by Library Board of Trustees, The Seattle Public Library, 22 January 2002.

N6:  "P[]rn at the Public Library: How Do Local Libraries Compare Across the State?," by Chelsea Kopta, KEPR 19, 12 June 2009.

N7:  "P[]rn, Sex Crimes At Libraries," by Dan Noyes, KIRO 7, 19 October 2007.

N8:  "Library P[]rn Removal Roadmap; NCRL Director Dean Marney Details How to Legally Remove Legal P[]rn from Public Library Computers and Advises that the ALA Relies on Outdated Dogma," by Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries, 15 November 2010.

N9:  "Library Conduct Violations Reach All-Time High," by Chris Halsne, KIRO 7, 27 May 2009.

N10:  "Not Keeping Quiet; Librarians Speak Out Against Proposed Policies at Seattle Public Library," by Paul Constant, The Stranger, 16 June 2009.

N11:  "Incidents by Primary Rule Violation, 2007-2009," by Seattle Public Library, KIRO 7, data from 3/07-12/09.

N12:  United States v. American Library Association, 539 U.S. 194 (2003).

N13:  "Automated Search of Commitments," by Universal Service Administrative Company, undated.

N14:  "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.

N15:  "Seattle Libraries to Shut Down for a Week; Budget Woes for Second Closure in a Year," by Larry Lange, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 22 August 2010.

N16: "Corporate Euphemisms, Angry Librarians, Accusations of Bullying: The Tense Battle for Seattle Public Library's Future," by Paul Constant, The Stranger, 8 April 2010.

N17:  "Among $9.3 Million in National Leadership Grants, IMLS Backs ALA E-Government Project," by Carrie Netzer Wajda, Library Journal, 4 October 2010.

N18:  "HELP Committee is Scheduled to Vote on the Nomination of Susan Hildreth and LSTA Reauthorization," by ALA Washington Office, American Library Association, 24 November 2010.

N19:  "The Parent Trap: ALA Uses Banned Books Week to Ridicule Patrons Complying with ALA Materials Reconsideration Policies," by Dan Kleinman, SafeLibraries, 29 September 2010.

About the Author

I'm Dan Kleinman and I wrote the above opinion.  I began opposing ALA policy almost a decade ago when the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom policies forced inappropriate material into the hands of my kindergartner.  The school principal eventually removed the material from the public school library stating she found it twice as bad as I had reported.  Now running SafeLibraries.org, I educate people and politicians about who controls public libraries and what can be done to restore local control.  I am consulted nationwide for my expertise in how the negative aspects of ALA influence can be mitigated, and I appear in numerous media reports.  I write regularly and ask people to consider subscribing to SafeLibraries.  Guest posts are welcome.  I track library crimes on Delicious and broadcast my latest crime additions on my SafeLibraries Twitter.  I may be reached at SafeLibraries@gmail.com.

My efforts and those of my late partner, Mark Decker, have been rewarded by the ALA naming SafeLibraries as one of its "prominent" opponents, if not the top one.  See "Intellectual Freedom Manual, Eighth Edition," Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association, 2010, p.383 [ALA's online version naming SafeLibraries].  Also see:

• "SafeLibraries Changing Library Profession According to Speaker at ALA 2010 Annual Conference; SafeLibraries Welcomes Media Requests for ALA Balance"

• "ALA Chills Free Exercise of Democracy by Publicly Attacking Mom and Pop Groups Who Dare to Oppose ALA Influence That Endangers Children"

• "Booklist Webcast - Defending the Right to Read: Celebrating Banned Books Week Featuring Special Guest Judy Blume"

I am available for media interviews.  This is especially important as the ALA plans a huge propaganda campaign in September 2011 for the 30th anniversary of "Banned Books Week."  I can provide balance with a smile and with solid legal and factual support, as illustrated above.  Hint, no books have been banned in the USA for almost 50 years.

URL for this blog post:  

http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2010/11/anything-goes-for-america-if-seattle.html

NOTE ADDED 1 DECEMBER 2010:

Today, the Senate HELP committee was no help.  The nomination of Susan Hildreth to be the director of IMLS was favorably reported from committee.  Her nomination now goes to the full Senate.  When you call your senators, please urge them to oppose Ms. Hildreth’s nomination.  Given this is the lame duck session, I doubt such opposition will prevail.


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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