Right Wingers Are Taking Over Library Boards to Remove Books on Racism

[Nevilledog]

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Maya Schenwar
@MayaSchenwar
Anti-library right-wingers are taking over public library boards to remove books, ban programming that challenges white supremacy, and cut library budgets.

Right Wingers Are Taking Over Library Boards to Remove Books on Racism
Right-wing groups are trying to stop public and school libraries from promoting racial justice and queer acceptance.
truthout.org
9:02 AM · Jul 13, 2021

https://truthout.org/articles/right-wingers-are-taking-over-library-boards-to-remove-books-on-racism/

When Joe Makula decided to run for the board of the Niles-Maine Public Library in Niles, Illinois, this spring, a community member asked him how he thought the library could better serve the area’s increasingly diverse community.

Many were stunned by his response: “Instead of stocking up on books in seven different languages,” he said. “If we got people to assimilate and learn English, that would do more good.”

At the time of his candidacy, Makula was a known person in Niles, having previously led efforts to impose term limits on elected officials and stop the town mayor from filling vacant trustee positions, but his interest in the library was new. Elizabeth Lynch, a member of the Save Niles Library Coalition, says that she does not know what provoked Makula’s involvement, but it quickly became apparent that his goal was “to object to the library being a community center.” He also opposed spending to repair the building’s aging roof and upgrade the facility to better bridge the digital divide separating low-income residents from their more affluent neighbors.

But despite, or perhaps because of, his political outlook, Makula — who did not respond to Truthout’s request for an interview — won the April election and now holds a seat on the library board; two other fiscal conservatives were also elected.

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[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[hlthe2b]

2. I don't know what state should be sacrificed, but can't we just give them all one to relocate

to turn into what they will? Make it their own little ugly confederate theocratic (?) fiefdom and let them stew in their own hateful ignorance? Now that would be a proverbial "wall" I could appreciate erecting.

Frankly, I'd like it to be Guantanamo, but I'm not sure that would be fair to the Cubans.

[iscooterliberally]

7. I went to Gitmo back in the late 90s on a USO tour.

This would not affect the Cubans at all. Guantanamo is fenced off from the rest of Cuba and the Cuban military surrounded the fence with land mines. The US military was removing all the mines we had on our side of the fence because they realized that the Cubans no longer knew where theirs were buried. I was only there for about a week during the second term of the Clinton Administration. I got to see the tent city they had set up to 'house' Haitians and Cubans that were intercepted at sea trying to reach the US. It was unbelievably hot with no breeze at all and I say this having grown up on south Florida. The tent city was completely empty when I was there, or I'm sure the military would not have permitted us to go anywhere near it.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

3. Same ol', same ol'...

[Nittersing]

4. Book burning can't be far behind... nt

[Thtwudbeme]

6. These types of people already do the equivalent of that

They start with a "book challenge," and when it gets shot down (and it usually does- the paperwork on that is intense)- they will check out the book and throw it away. The fines will cover the cost of buying another copy- but, that and the processing can take a very long time.

The best way for public librarians to get around this is to join forces with several counties, and buy ebooks.

[Thtwudbeme]

5. Being a librarian is getting harder because of crap like this

In addition to having everything dumped on us- usually involving technology- we have to listen to people who do not even bother to read our mission statements, much less diverse books- try to tell us how to do our jobs.

I am a school librarian (middle), and everyone expects me to be able to fix their printers, the school copiers, their computers...trouble shoot why their videos "won't play," in addition to teaching classes, finding resources, running a fairly high tech makerspace, and maintaining my collection. Now add a grandmother who contacted the school board because a book had a photo of sisters with their faces pressed together (as in a selfie). She contacted the board members and told them I had a book with "lesbians" on the cover, and that her 6th grader was "upset." (I talked to the student, she told me her grandmother was wrong- and she thought the book was "boring." I read it- it was)

If I were younger and getting my masters, or giving advice to younger folks, I would tell them to either stick to children's lit, or work in a university as a cataloger.

[Cattledog]

8. Where are the Progressives running????

This is how we lost so many State seats.

[AwakeAtLast]

9. I am the President of our Board

And I live in one of the reddest counties in Illinois. Our books are safe!

Incidentally, a library patron can access any book without being denied it through the sharing system. They just have to request what they want.

[Demovictory9]

10. getting elected to library boards to cut back on libraries...wow