public library
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see censor book ban / fascism
see local takeover
see parent rights
see public schools
see ALA
see commons
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AN 2 26
Trump has successfully pressured the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) into adopting new guidelines — and some officials feel that they amount to ideological loyalty tests.
The official letter emphasizes "uplifting and positive narratives of our shared American experience" but also instructs “improper ideology” be scrubbed from federal cultural institutions, according to a report by The Washington Post. Because the IMLS distributes grants to museums and libraries, they have the power to make both personnel and curatorial choices. As such, all references to "inclusive," "equity," and "diverse" or "diversity" have been removed from the IMLS’ recent 13 grant notices, even though they were previously commonplace in competitive applications. On some occasions, it has forced people out of the funding process.
"It feels like organizations like ours are boxed out from telling a complete and true and honest American story,” explained Ashley Rogers, executive director of the Whitney Plantation in New Orleans. Because of what Rogers does for a living, it is practically impossible for her to request grant money while remaining consistent with the administration’s standards.
"Our mission is to educate the public about the history and legacies of slavery,” Rogers told the Post. “We're a nonprofit. This is the only thing we do. I don't know how to make that align with the current funding opportunities at IMLS and more fundamentally than that, if I did, would I be betraying my mission?"
Lori Byrd, a former museum professional and IMLS grant reviewer, expressed a similar concern more broadly.
"If you even apply for this, are you going to get pushback from either your museum community or your fellow museum professionals because you're kind of caving to the administration?" Byrd asked. Museum consultant Andrea Jones made the same point when talking about her own professional responsibilities.
"Not only is the risk to my livelihood too great … but I care about doing credible, nuanced work — not being part of a propaganda machine,” Jones said.
Because of the uncertainty caused by the Trump administration’s approach, the IMLS grant cycle is already months behind schedule, The Post reported. Nor are Trump’s loyalty tests merely harming museums and libraries. A retired high-ranking military officer explained in a conservative publication that Trump’s policies are doing the same thing to America’s armed forces.
"The implications are immediate and corrosive," Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling wrote in The Bulwark earlier this week. "If promotions to general officer rank can be rescinded for perceived associations with others, officers may begin to prioritize 'safe' assignments or noncontroversial bosses. Candor — already fragile in large bureaucracies — may diminish if officers fear that honest service under controversial leaders will later be used against them. The apolitical ethic that underpins the profession of arms risks erosion."
Hertling added, "The Army's strength has always rested on trust: trust that performance matters more than patronage, that merit outweighs politics, and that the institution protects those who serve honorably in any job they are assigned. Undermining that trust does not merely harm an officer's career; it weakens the foundation of professional military service."
Loyalty oaths are not just in libraries, museums and the military. The US economy itself could be at risk because of Trump’s loyalty oaths, as evidenced by the controversy over National Economic Council directorKevin Hassett calling for Federal Reserve officers to be “disciplined” for issuing a report which showed Trump’s tariffs are hurting ordinary Americans.
“In the end, Mr. Trump’s decision evinced both the risk and reward for an economist whose previous views had morphed in service of the White House and its economic agenda," The New York Times recently reported. "The president did not want to lose one of his most forceful champions, whose full-throated advocacy had won deep praise from Mr. Trump but had fueled fears that Mr. Hassett could not guide monetary policy while resisting political influence.”
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jason Rapert Says Members of the Arkansas State Library Board ‘Probably Should Be Tarred and Feathered’
[ | August 26, 2024 rww
In 2023, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Christian nationalist activist and a zealously anti-LGBTQ and anti-choice former state senator Jason Rapert to the state library board. Predictably, his tenure on the board has been anything but smooth, with Rapert regularly lashing out at his fellow board members for refusing to support his far-right agenda and complaining that he’s been experiencing a “hostile work environment” because he is “a Christian white male.”
During a recent episode of his “Save The Nation” program, Rapert’s frustrations boiled over as he called on the state legislature to abolish the library board entirely, declaring that his fellow board members “probably should be tarred and feathered.”
“The Bible says, ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,'” Rapert said. “Well, when you have leaders that are not allowing the nation to be blessed of God, they’re not doing godly things, you need to replace them, get rid of them, get them out of office, put people back in there that will. You’ve got schools where they’re fighting over allowing homosexual, LGBTQ material to be utilized to groom children. … There needs to be people that will take up and sue anybody that is allowing that sort of thing to go on in our school districts and in our libraries.”
“I serve on the Arkansas Library Board,” Rapert continued. “I cannot get those other board members to take a stand to stop some of the smut that is in those libraries. It’s ridiculous. I’ve made motions trying to do it, and I am at a point now where it’s going to take so long to get new board members on there, if I were the legislature, I would run a bill just to abolishing the Arkansas State Library Board and let it be reconstituted. Put new people in there, or maybe they just need to call on people to resign if you’re not going to do your job.”
“When you don’t protect children in America, you have no business serving in a public official’s role,” Rapert griped. “You have no business serving on a board, you have no business serving in a state legislature, you have no business being an elected official at any level if you’re not going to protect children. When you get to a point that you’re so confused and you’re so completely jaded that you cannot make a decision to keep smut or pornographic stuff [away from] children, you’ve lost your ever-loving mind and you need to be replaced. You need to be taken out. Some people say, ‘Oh, he’s talking about violence.’ No, I’m not talking about violence. You need to be run out on a rail. You probably should be tarred and feathered. That’s what they used to do in America is they would tar and feather those kind of folks. Get rid of them. Teach them a lesson. Get them out of office.”
Jason Rapert Says Members of the Arkansas State Library Board 'Probably Should Be Tarred and Feathered' from Right Wing Watch on Vimeo.
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https://www.mediamatters.org/crime-and-criminal-justice/bomb-threat-and-hate-speech-against-library-follow-targeted-harassment
mma 8 23 no lnx vid
bomb threat and hate speech against library follow targeted harassment from Riley Gaines and other right-wing media figures
After Gaines and other conservative figures spread outrage over the library’s handling of hate speech, a bomb threat forced the branch and a nearby elementary school to evacuate
WRITTEN BY MIA GINGERICH
RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ALYSSA TIRRELL
PUBLISHED 08/23/23
On August 21, an anonymous caller directed a bomb threat that included anti-LGBTQ hate speech against a library in Davis, California, forcing the library and a nearby elementary school to evacuate. The threat came amid a harassment campaign against the location led by Riley Gaines and other members of right-wing media who have spent the last year driving similar threats against schools and children’s hospitals.
The day before the threat was made against the library, the Yolo County chapter of Moms for Liberty — an anti-civil rights and anti-LGBTQ group whose members have been linked to numerous instances of threats and harassment — hosted an event there criticizing trans inclusion in sports. During the event, complaints from audience members led library staff to warn speakers that misgendering athletes breaks the library’s code of conduct. When speakers continued misgendering trans athletes, a staff member asked them to leave.
That evening, local conservative anti-lockdown activist Jonathan Zachreson posted his account of what had happened on X (formerly known as Twitter) alongside a flier for the event featuring the library’s name and location. A few hours later, anti-LGBTQ group California Family Council posted a video of the altercation on X.
Anti-trans activist Riley Gaineswas one of the first accounts with a major following to quote-tweet the video. Her initial tweet came just before 9 a.m. ET and requested the librarian’s name and phone number, adding, “We need silent majority to do its thing.” Minutes later she sent a follow-up tweet with the library’s contact information, instructions on how to reach a staff member, and an urge for “everyone [to] call” followed by four exclamation points. This call to action went out to her more than 700,000 followers.
screenshot of tweet
Replies to Gaines’ tweet show people followed Gaines' instruction, calling the library until the phone number was apparently disconnected. Other replies included anti-trans rhetoric, comments comparing the library staff to the Gestapo, and attempts to identify specific staff members at the library. At least one commenter posted a link to what appeared to be the personal Facebook page of a person they claimed worked at the location.
Gaines, who previously helped drive harassment against high school athletes who were forced to drop out of competition out of fear for their well-being, was soon followed by the larger right-wing media apparatus, including Libs of TikTok, which has a history of directing fans to harass LGBTQ people and their allies.
By the time police sent out an alert in reaction to the bomb threat just before 3 p.m., some large right-wing outlets and blogs had already published articles on the story.Fox News posted an article headlined “Riley Gaines slams men trying to 'silence' ex-college athlete at California library event” less than two hours after Gaines posted her initial tweet on the matter. OutKick, Timcast, and the Washington Examiner — outlets with long histories of anti-LGBTQ animus — all published articles before the bomb threat was reported. Gaines was cited in all three.
The harassment and threats made against the Davis library come on the heels of a yearlong push by right-wing media and politicians to demonize public libraries and the people who staff them. The Davis incident represents the latest chapter in right-wing media’s effort to utilize social media to drive harassment campaigns against those they frame as their political enemies. Widespread harassment of children’s hospitals that provide gender-affirming care for trans youth by figures including Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik and The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh culminated last year in multiple bomb threats made against Boston Children’s Hospital. Those who helped drive the harassment were rewarded with prime-time appearances on Fox News.
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IN THIS ARTICLE
Crime Criminal Justice
Libs of TikTok
LoTT
Fox News
Related
Death threats, Proud Boys, and homophobic bigots: Matt Walsh’s anti-trans rally drew a crowd of extremists
10/27/22 12:41 PM EDT
Fox News responded to threats against children's hospitals by amplifying the voices fueling them
09/08/22 12:53 PM EDT
Right-wing media figures claimed a bomb threat against Boston Children’s Hospital was a false flag up until the FBI named a suspect
09/16/22
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Anti-LGBTQ Christian Nationalist Leader Joins Arkansas State Library Board | Right Wing Watch
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10 comm
https://www.alternet.org/texas-public-schools-2659732308/
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an 7 23 ~ AA
no lnx
Houston schools eliminate librarians and 'repurpose' libraries into 'discipline centers'
David Badashand The New Civil Rights Movement July 27, 2023
The Houston Independent School District, the largest in Texas and the eighth-largest in the United States, will eliminate librarian positions in 28 schools and turn libraries into what are being called “discipline centers,” according to Click2Houston.
Mike Myles, the state-installed schools superintendent and former charter schools CEO, earlier this month announced cuts of up to 600 central office positions.
Texas has a $32 billion state surplus but rather than allocate needed funds to public schools, lawmakers in the majority-Republican state legislature, at the behest of Governor Greg Abbott, just delivered a massive property tax cut.
The move to gut librarians and massively reduce access to books and other material does not appear to be budget related, as librarians will be allowed to apply for other positions.
READ MORE: Nancy Mace Tells Prayer Breakfast About Refusing Sex With Her Fiancé This Morning: ‘I’ll See Him Later’
KHOU reports libraries at those 28 schools “will be repurposed into ‘team centers’ where students who had to be removed from class due to behavioral issues will be placed to watch their class virtually.”
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Former HISD librarian and Manager of Library Services, Janice Newsum, says, “When students engage in reading as an activity of choice, they are not only building that reading muscle, but they are also developing their vocabulary they are understanding a bit about the world that exists outside their block radius.”
Mayor Sylvester Turner appeared to suggest the schools that are losing their librarians are already underserved.
“You don’t close libraries in some of the schools in your most underserved communities, and you’re keeping libraries open in other schools,” Turner said.
Watch Click2Houston’s report below or at this link.
: report
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5 32 an sonali
https://www.alternet.org/republicans-want-defund-our-libraries/
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https://www.alternet.org/state-and-local-republicans-slammed/
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an 4 23
republicans in the Missouri State House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to strip all public libraries of their funding a week after lawmakers debated the budget proposal that Governor Mike Parson submitted to the legislature.
The version that will now head to the State Senate eliminated "not only the $4.5 million Parson had slated for libraries, but also costs for diversity initiatives, childcare and pre-kindergarten programs," Heartland Signal reported.
The move appears to be a retaliatory response to legal action taken by the American Civil Liberties Union.
READ MORE: Missouri Dem. lawmaker blasts state GOP for 'dystopian future' proposal to defund public libraries
"Missouri House Budget Committee leader Rep. Cody Smith (R-Carthage) proposed cutting library aid due to a recent lawsuit filed against the state last February," Heartland Signal explained.
"The lawsuit — filed by the ACLU of Missouri on behalf of the Missouri Association of School Librarians and the Missouri Library Association — seeks to declare Senate Bill 775 unconstitutional, a bill that has resulted in over 300 books getting banned from school libraries, many of which include LGBTQ characters or racial justice themes," the outlet added.
READ MORE: 'Are people seriously this stupid?': Missouri woman and pastor claim 'miracle' of three regrown toes
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https://boingboing.net/2023/03/30/missouri-house-of-representatives-sets-new-budget-for-public-libraries-to-0.html
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rww 3 23
rick Scarborough—a self-described “Christocrat,” strident anti-LGBTQ activist, and longtime critic of public education—has his sights set on taking over public education in Texas this year. He intends to do so by taking over school boards and fearmongering about public school students “being groomed by homosexuals and the trans perverts [and] recruited into their evil lifestyles.”
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Last week, Scarborough revealed another aspect of his strategy.
about his intention to take over school boards at an event organized by the Texas Tea Party Republican Women, Scarborough admitted that he is trying to “take over America” for Jesus and is working to “expunge this entire state of every immoral book in the library.”
Scarborough began his remarks by recounting how, earlier in his career, he had been portrayed in the media a right-wing theocrat intent on forcing his far-right Christian views on the nation. That was an accurate assessment, Scarborough now admits.
“They went after me as trying to take over the town, trying to take over America,” Scarborough said. “And, in all honesty, I was, but I couldn’t say that. I mean, why not take it over for Jesus?”
“Sixty-eight percent of the teachers in Texas, by poll … now believe that the LGBTQ agenda should be taught and embraced,” Scarborough complained later in his speech. “We’re grooming our children for pedophiles. That’s what’s happening. Now, let me tell you what I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing—and by God’s grace, if I can raise the budget and get people behind me: In four years, I want to expunge this entire state of every immoral book in the library. Call me a Nazi, call me a book-burner, I’ve been called worse." [vid]
scarborough has plenty of company. Right-wing politicians and political groups are restricting the freedom to learn by demanding the removal of books they don’t like—often those featuring Black or LGBTQ characters—from schools and public libraries. In Texas, the author of the state’s anti-abortion bill is drafting local ordinances that would allow citizens to sue librarians over “immoral content.”
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Moms For Liberty, founded in 2021, is the far-right group that has been pushing for MAGA curriculums in schools and trying to pressure teachers into avoiding any topics having to do with gay rights or the United States’ history of racism. In Moms for Liberty’s world, discussing the beliefs of Malcolm X or Cecil B. Moore in a classroom could be considered teaching “critical race theory” — although the academic field of study known as CRT didn’t exist until the 1980s, which was after the deaths of Malcolm X in 1965 and Moore in 1979.
Now, according to journalist Melissa Gira Grant, a Moms for Liberty offshoot is focusing specifically on book repositories: Moms for Libraries.
In an article published by The New Republic on January 11, Grant reports, “Conservatives have made libraries a target of extreme ire over the past several years, as in the moral panic over drag queen story hour events, now common from Idaho to New York. But it’s school libraries that are likely to get an extra level of right-wing scrutiny in the year ahead, thanks to a group born from Moms for Liberty. Courting a child star, former Trump officials, and a tech billionaire as their North Star and potential influencers, Moms for Libraries is hoping to entrench itself this year in libraries across the country.”
READ MORE: Foot soldiers for Ron DeSantis: The right-wing money and influence behind Moms for Liberty
Grant describes Moms for Libraries, launched in 2022, as “part of that much larger and better-known national group Moms for Liberty, whose financial backers are largely unknown and which is organizing conservative women to influence and/or take over school boards.”
“On the surface,” Grant observes, “Moms for Libraries prompts supporters to purchase copies of books from a handful of small conservative publishers it’s chosen, such as Heroes of Liberty, which released a book in December valorizing Elon Musk…. Another Moms for Libraries partner, Brave Books, recently used a book by former ‘Growing Pains’ star Kirk Cameron to fuel a misinformation campaign that libraries are discriminating against Christians.
Grant notes that Moms for Libraries founder Catherine Rahimian “started off as the founder of the Moms for Liberty chapter in Orange County, California.”
“On one level, Moms for Libraries may seem to be not much more than a way to push a promo code for conservative publishers — one that has managed to get only about 5000 books donated to it to distribute to schools,” Grant explains. “But the group’s mission is to turn libraries into the kind of battle fronts it can command, from social media to Fox News, as it has before with school boards. School librarians witnessed the toxic environment that Moms for Liberty has stoked, and on which Moms for Libraries is now focused, using the massive, apparently well-resourced network that Moms for Liberty has built so quickly.”