More on the demise of libraries

[jimbogumbo]

Charles Pierce always says it better than I can:https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a40639734/vinton-iowa-library-closing/

[lightning]

Charles Pierce always says it better than I can:https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a40639734/vinton-iowa-library-closing/

Since Vinton, IA doesn't like liberal agendas, they should not mind being cut off from the "socialist" re-distribtion of wealth that makes tiny towns like Vinton viable in the first place.

[dismalist]

Story sounded fishy to me, well, incomplete. I googled a bit.

The fundamental theoretical question is: Who owns the library?

Couldn't find how the Board members are chosen or who chooses them, but I did find this article in Vinton Today https://vintontoday.com/articles/News/article1031786.html

Looks like it all started very respectfully. It was about a book exhibit, not the library collection. And the Board's brief is to listen to "the community", and the Board wants to be inclusive. I mistrust the language, but never mind.

If I understand correctly, the board told the respectful critics to piss off. Things seem to have escalated from there.

Though I love libraries, closings are not so important since we have access to the internet.

P.S.: The poverty rate in Vinton is about the same as the national average. The town won't be living more off government largess than other places [not nearly as much as in my county, Fairfax, Va, home to the defense industry and their lobbyists.]

[jimbogumbo]

Please. I bolded some comments from the article you linked:

As a member of this community, I want to express my concerns of where I've observed the direction of our public library heading over the past couple of years. It appears that there is a slow, quiet agenda moving into our local library culture through the staff hiring decisions and the books that have crept into our children's section of the library. I don't believe the library is representing our town well with hiring a majority of staff who are openly a part of the LGBTQ community.

Although I am not here to ask you to remove anyone from their staffing positions, I would strongly encourage you to listen to the families, like ourselves, who are distancing themselves from the liberal agenda that seems to be happening at the library. If a liberal agenda is not the intention of the library, I ask you to please consider that this is the impression that many families are viewing it as. There has been a subtle, yet noticeable display of the LGBTQ agenda through the choices of books on display, the cross dressing of employees, Facebook posts and the question of non-gender bathrooms being considered on tonight's agenda.

[dismalist]

Please. I bolded some comments from the article you linked:

As a member of this community, I want to express my concerns of where I've observed the direction of our public library heading over the past couple of years. It appears that there is a slow, quiet agenda moving into our local library culture through the staff hiring decisions and the books that have crept into our children's section of the library. I don't believe the library is representing our town well with hiring a majority of staff who are openly a part of the LGBTQ community.

Although I am not here to ask you to remove anyone from their staffing positions, I would strongly encourage you to listen to the families, like ourselves, who are distancing themselves from the liberal agenda that seems to be happening at the library. If a liberal agenda is not the intention of the library, I ask you to please consider that this is the impression that many families are viewing it as. There has been a subtle, yet noticeable display of the LGBTQ agenda through the choices of books on display, the cross dressing of employees, Facebook posts and the question of non-gender bathrooms being considered on tonight's agenda.

Sure, jimbo. People differ. Who owns the library?

It doesn't matter anymore.

[jimbogumbo]

Please. I bolded some comments from the article you linked:

As a member of this community, I want to express my concerns of where I've observed the direction of our public library heading over the past couple of years. It appears that there is a slow, quiet agenda moving into our local library culture through the staff hiring decisions and the books that have crept into our children's section of the library. I don't believe the library is representing our town well with hiring a majority of staff who are openly a part of the LGBTQ community.

Although I am not here to ask you to remove anyone from their staffing positions, I would strongly encourage you to listen to the families, like ourselves, who are distancing themselves from the liberal agenda that seems to be happening at the library. If a liberal agenda is not the intention of the library, I ask you to please consider that this is the impression that many families are viewing it as. There has been a subtle, yet noticeable display of the LGBTQ agenda through the choices of books on display, the cross dressing of employees, Facebook posts and the question of non-gender bathrooms being considered on tonight's agenda.

Sure, jimbo. People differ. Who owns the library?

It doesn't matter anymore.

Sorry, but hiring LGBTQ employees shouldn't matter in a rational world regardless of who owns the library. Substitute male, female, white, Black, or any other category of everyday human, and it is still wrong. If not unlawful, then why not?

[dismalist]

Please. I bolded some comments from the article you linked:

As a member of this community, I want to express my concerns of where I've observed the direction of our public library heading over the past couple of years. It appears that there is a slow, quiet agenda moving into our local library culture through the staff hiring decisions and the books that have crept into our children's section of the library. I don't believe the library is representing our town well with hiring a majority of staff who are openly a part of the LGBTQ community.

Although I am not here to ask you to remove anyone from their staffing positions, I would strongly encourage you to listen to the families, like ourselves, who are distancing themselves from the liberal agenda that seems to be happening at the library. If a liberal agenda is not the intention of the library, I ask you to please consider that this is the impression that many families are viewing it as. There has been a subtle, yet noticeable display of the LGBTQ agenda through the choices of books on display, the cross dressing of employees, Facebook posts and the question of non-gender bathrooms being considered on tonight's agenda.

Sure, jimbo. People differ. Who owns the library?

It doesn't matter anymore.

Sorry, but hiring LGBTQ employees shouldn't matter in a rational world regardless of who owns the library. Substitute male, female, white, Black, or any other category of everyday human, and it is still wrong. If not unlawful, then why not?

If I understand correctly, it started explicitly not about hiring. It was about books at an exhibition. These things can escalate, as this incident shows.

I don't want to underplay the initial story at all, I just thought it was seriously incomplete.

[jimbogumbo]

Please. I bolded some comments from the article you linked:

As a member of this community, I want to express my concerns of where I've observed the direction of our public library heading over the past couple of years. It appears that there is a slow, quiet agenda moving into our local library culture through the staff hiring decisions and the books that have crept into our children's section of the library. I don't believe the library is representing our town well with hiring a majority of staff who are openly a part of the LGBTQ community.

Although I am not here to ask you to remove anyone from their staffing positions, I would strongly encourage you to listen to the families, like ourselves, who are distancing themselves from the liberal agenda that seems to be happening at the library. If a liberal agenda is not the intention of the library, I ask you to please consider that this is the impression that many families are viewing it as. There has been a subtle, yet noticeable display of the LGBTQ agenda through the choices of books on display, the cross dressing of employees, Facebook posts and the question of non-gender bathrooms being considered on tonight's agenda.

Sure, jimbo. People differ. Who owns the library?

It doesn't matter anymore.

Sorry, but hiring LGBTQ employees shouldn't matter in a rational world regardless of who owns the library. Substitute male, female, white, Black, or any other category of everyday human, and it is still wrong. If not unlawful, then why not?

If I understand correctly, it started explicitly not about hiring. It was about books at an exhibition. These things can escalate, as this incident shows.

I don't want to underplay the initial story at all, I just thought it was seriously incomplete.

She SAID it wasn't about hiring, but then criticized hires. I think that is pretty explicit.

Regardless, the STAFF all quit, which is their right. It is unfortunate for the patrons and town, since the library can't stay open without them.

[dismalist]

Please. I bolded some comments from the article you linked:

As a member of this community, I want to express my concerns of where I've observed the direction of our public library heading over the past couple of years. It appears that there is a slow, quiet agenda moving into our local library culture through the staff hiring decisions and the books that have crept into our children's section of the library. I don't believe the library is representing our town well with hiring a majority of staff who are openly a part of the LGBTQ community.

Although I am not here to ask you to remove anyone from their staffing positions, I would strongly encourage you to listen to the families, like ourselves, who are distancing themselves from the liberal agenda that seems to be happening at the library. If a liberal agenda is not the intention of the library, I ask you to please consider that this is the impression that many families are viewing it as. There has been a subtle, yet noticeable display of the LGBTQ agenda through the choices of books on display, the cross dressing of employees, Facebook posts and the question of non-gender bathrooms being considered on tonight's agenda.

Sure, jimbo. People differ. Who owns the library?

It doesn't matter anymore.

Sorry, but hiring LGBTQ employees shouldn't matter in a rational world regardless of who owns the library. Substitute male, female, white, Black, or any other category of everyday human, and it is still wrong. If not unlawful, then why not?

If I understand correctly, it started explicitly not about hiring. It was about books at an exhibition. These things can escalate, as this incident shows.

I don't want to underplay the initial story at all, I just thought it was seriously incomplete.

She SAID it wasn't about hiring, but then criticized hires. I think that is pretty explicit.

Regardless, the STAFF all quit, which is their right. It is unfortunate for the patrons and town, since the library can't stay open without them.

I'm not going to litigate this story here, jimbo.

I will say that if the library can't stay open, the local protesters have won. They may be better off without the library. The employees may be worse off.

In any case, I suppose the employees who left could bring an anti-discrimination lawsuit, or at least complain to the EEO.

Given the EEO and the internet, there is not a problem.

Again, who owns the library? The employees? The community? Neither are homogeneous. The significant path is to deal with differing opinions.

[jimbogumbo]

Sorry, not trying to litigate. I just think the fewer libraries available to small towns the worse off the people without real internet access are. That is a significant fraction of small town America.

[mamselle]

Agreed.

M.