Alpena Library Board

[James48]

Anybody in northern Michigan, pay attention to the attempt to fire the entire library board at the Alpena Library. The Republican County Commissioners are all up in arms, after they saw a rainbow flag at the library! (Goodness!!) . The big kicker was the Commissioners being upset that there were books which had SEX I. Them! Gasp! In the are where teens could get to it!


It’s a culture war battle being faught by warriors with a ooose screw.

[niyad]

1. You mean copies of the bible? Plenty of sex in them!

[HeartsCanHope]

2. Libraries have always been a target.

I have worked in multiple libraries and was an Elementary School Librarian for a few years. The ridiculous complaints over the books, the activities--it really got to me sometimes. Who are they to tell someone else what to think and believe! The right wingers act as if they are the only ones using that library, only one paying taxes, and that only their opinion on anything is correct.
I had a mother object to the Harry Potter books because the author put "spells" in them. When I asked if she had read the books, she told me she had not, but her pastor said there were demonic spells in the books that kids were using. When I suggested she read the books before passing judgment, offering my own copy of the first Harry Potter book, she refused. Then she complained to the principal. The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak was upsetting to another mother because the kid had no pants on. She wanted me to draw pants on the illustration! I even had one parent get upset because a reference book on anatomy, that kids couldn't check out, had correct anatomical parts! She had come in to pay a fine, had gone to the teacher's reference section that the kids weren't even allowed to look at, and started rifling through the books. When I explained that section was for teachers only, she still made a complaint to the principal! I could go on and on.
The right wing crazies just want to be angry and full of hate. Libraries are an easy target. Librarians want to serve the ENTIRE community, not just the conservative crowd. You're taught over and over in library science classes that your job is to represent as many viewpoints as possible in your collection. Everyone should feel welcome in your library. I will say that from what I've heard from former colleagues that the right seems to be 100 times more rabid in their attacks than in the past. I've read articles that truly upset me about librarians receiving death threats!
Every day I ask myself the question, "How did we get here?"