We Interlibrary Loan Librarians have a special mission in a time of crisis, especially the one faced by us librarians in Republican-dominated States in the present era. Capital F Fascism is a genuine threat to Western liberal democracy at home and abroad. Whatever can be said for library neutrality as a virtue, in the present time merely asserting a Freedom To Read IS NOT NEUTRAL. It never has been. And that's OKAY. We are unabashedly small d-democratic civic institutions. We oppose authoritarian rule EVERYWHERE as contrary to the library's mission.
(Pictured above: Freedom to Read t-shirt sold by the Chicago Public Library, featuring the artwork of Art Spiegelman of the series MAUS, recently banned in some schools).
It is our civic duty to provide reading materials to our patrons, especially in cases where such books have been challenged and (temporarily or permanently) removed from our shelves locally....as Mister Universe stated in the movie Serenity, you can't stop the signal. We have a duty to provide such material on the down low via Interlibrary Loan whenever and wherever possible to #resist. Our opponents are brutes but they're also quite stupid and just as likely to forget ILL exists as an option to patrons. Hell, I even obtain the craziest right-wing dreck and religious drivel for my patrons. They love me for it. I may privately deplore them for wanting such material but I still work hard to get it for them nonetheless. Benefit of the doubt, maybe they're doing Op-O research... Probably not but I'm in no position to judge that particular question. A freedom to read means a freedom to read even that garbage. But it also means I will obtain whatever LGBT+ material my patrons want, regardless of local collection policy.
I definitely salute the Brooklyn Public Library for making its ebook collection accessible all teens nationwide in an effort to fight #censorship and make materials available virtually and remotely what local tyrants are trying to stamp out locally, from so-called "CRT" (e.g. any material providing an open and honest account of historic and systemic racism in the United States) to LGBT+ material, They are doing heroic work and are worthy of our support. The Brooklyn Public Library has a webstore where you can support their library system directly and land yourself some dope-ass swag like this:
It is our civic duty to provide reading materials to our patrons, especially in cases where such books have been challenged and (temporarily or permanently) removed from our shelves locally....as Mister Universe stated in the movie Serenity, you can't stop the signal. We have a duty to provide such material on the down low via Interlibrary Loan whenever and wherever possible to #resist. Our opponents are brutes but they're also quite stupid and just as likely to forget ILL exists as an option to patrons. Hell, I even obtain the craziest right-wing dreck and religious drivel for my patrons. They love me for it. I may privately deplore them for wanting such material but I still work hard to get it for them nonetheless. Benefit of the doubt, maybe they're doing Op-O research... Probably not but I'm in no position to judge that particular question. A freedom to read means a freedom to read even that garbage. But it also means I will obtain whatever LGBT+ material my patrons want, regardless of local collection policy.
I definitely salute the Brooklyn Public Library for making its ebook collection accessible all teens nationwide in an effort to fight #censorship and make materials available virtually and remotely what local tyrants are trying to stamp out locally, from so-called "CRT" (e.g. any material providing an open and honest account of historic and systemic racism in the United States) to LGBT+ material, They are doing heroic work and are worthy of our support. The Brooklyn Public Library has a webstore where you can support their library system directly and land yourself some dope-ass swag like this:
(Brooklyn Public Library t-shirt)
It might seem trivial, it might not seem like very much at all, but let me assure you, this too is a form of #antifascism and it matters. I renewed my American Library Association Membership and Texas Library Association Membership on my birthday this past year because it matters to me that much. It matters for me to bolster civic institutions like this as a move to defend small-d democracy in the United States. I support the one political party left in the United States that actually cares about democracy but that alone is not enough. Direct action and bolstering of civil institutions vital to the lifeblood of democracy also matter very much.
Publicly reaffirming The Freedom To Read as an American Value is vitally important at this time. Libraries as institutions cannot wade into the political discourse directly but we can make it known we do stand for democracy against authoritarianism. We stand for FREEDOM versus autocracy, we stand against narrow bigotry and for pluralism. This we must do as Librarians and dedicated professionals.
I love my job and the part I play in sustaining the democratic discourse in a free society.
