Tag: libraries

School librarians told to remove art books with ‘historic paintings of nudes’ in latest censorship row

School librarians are being told to remove art books with ‘historic paintings of nudes’ in the latest censorship controversy revealed today.

The ‘insane’ trend was revealed by a delegate at the annual conference of the National Education Union (NEU), saying she had heard ‘many accounts’ of art books being cut.

It comes after a school librarian at Lowry Academy in Salford, Greater Manchester, revealed last week she had been forced to remove books deemed ‘inappropriate’ by management.

Bosses used artificial intelligence to earmark almost 200 books for removal, including George Orwell’s 1984 and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight.

The school later admitted it had removed ‘a small number of books’ but said it had put most of them back, into ‘age-appropriate categories’.

The Lowry Academy case prompted the NEU to pass an urgent motion yesterday to ‘fight censorship and defend librarians’.

The union said that although the woman in the original controversy is not part of the union, it wanted to protect its own librarian members from suffering a similar fate.

Proposing the motion, Kristabelle Williams, a member from Lewisham, said: ‘We cannot ignore the issues that this case has brought up.

‘We can take action as a union now to try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.’

She said the support of the union would give librarians the ‘confidence to not self-censor and resist the chilling effect that this case will cultivate’.

She added members fear there is now an ‘increased risk of external complaints’ and ‘hate campaigns’ about books in their libraries.

Also speaking during the debate was Laura Butterworth, a member from Tameside Greater Manchester, which is near Lowry Academy.

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Woke San Francisco nonprofit boss charged with fraud made local library buy 1,500 copies of HER children’s book, netting her $100,000

A former California civil rights leader is accused of pocketing $100,000 by directing a library to buy thousands of her children’s books, amid allegations she siphoned funds meant for the black community. 

Sheryl Davis, former director of San Francisco’s Human Rights Commission, was arrested Monday on allegations of a ‘pervasive pattern of self-dealing,’ with prosecutors accusing her of misappropriating thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds. 

She allegedly used her partner’s nonprofit as a ‘slush fund’ for lavish personal spending, including travel, VIP party tickets and even her son’s tuition at UCLA. 

On Tuesday, an affidavit revealed that thousands of dollars were personally used toward promoting her children’s book through questionable deals and high-profile, celebrity-studded events, according to The New York Post.

The once-respected activist allegedly arranged the sale of 1,500 copies of ‘Free to Sing’ to the San Francisco Public Library, her book about a young black girl’s passion for singing despite criticism.

Davis raked in $100,000 in 2024 from book sales through her publisher, Book Baby, under the deal, according to an economic disclosure filing.

From 2021 to 2024, the nonprofit spent upwards of $30,000 on hotels and singer Goapele’s performances at two events, including $5,000 for a 2023 book launch party for Davis. 

The city’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) also spent at least $6,000 on the firm Varner PR, along with other expenses, to further promote sales. 

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‘Where’s the Money?’: California Librarian Questioned on Missing $650,000 Linked to Dolly Parton Initiative

California’s top librarian is accused of failing to produce $650,000 in missing funds linked to a literacy program started by country music star Dolly Parton in east Tennessee in 1995.

State legislators recently pelted Greg Lucas, the leader of the California State Library, with questions about the funds during a budget hearing on education, the New York Post reported on Friday.

The issue is connected to a foundation started by Parton called Imagination Library, which delivers free books to children. The program was set to be statewide in California in 2023, according to WJHL.

The outlet noted Parton created her library in 1995 to provide free books in her home county in east Tennessee.

During the hearing, state Sen. Shannon Grove (R) told Lucas he did not have documentation to show where the money went.

She then asked point blank, “Where’s the money?”

Lucas was appointed to lead the state library in 2014 by former Gov. Jerry Brown, ABC 10 reported.

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Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Overturn Texas “Book Bans,” Library May Remove LGBTQ Books

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a group of Texas county residents challenging their local library’s removal of LGBTQ and other controversial books from its bookshelves.

Yesterday, the Court denied the groups’ petition to review the case, letting stand the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ earlier dismissal of their free speech claims against the so-called “book bans.”

We covered the case, Little v. Llano County, here:

Federal Appeals Court Tosses “Book Ban” Challenge, Library May Remove Books Based on Content

To recap briefly, the conflict between county residents and library officials began in 2021, when, responding to public complaints, the Llano County library removed 17 controversial books from its shelves, including these children’s books: Freakboy; Freddy the Farting Snowman; and Being Jazz: My Life As a Transgender Teen.  A group of patrons then sued, alleging the library had illegally banned the books.

At first, the case was going the plaintiffs’ way. In 2023, the federal district court sided with the patrons, ruling the library violated their right to receive information under the Free Speech Clause and ordering the books to be put back on the shelves. Last year, a divided panel of the Fifth Circuit Court agreed.

On appeal, however, a full panel of the Fifth Circuit ruled 10-7 that there is “no such right” under the First Amendment: “It is one thing to tell the government it cannot stop you from receiving a book,” Judge Stuart Duncan, a Trump appointee, wrote on behalf of the panel.  “The First Amendment protects your right to do that.” “It is another thing for you to tell the government which books it must keep in the library. The First Amendment does not give you the right to demand that.”

The court also held that the library’s book selections are government speech, similar to a city museum’s selection of which paintings to feature in an exhibit—and therefore not subject to a Free Speech challenge.

The library patrons then petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene and reverse the appellate court’s decision “immunizing” viewpoint discrimination in violation of their First Amendment rights.

Now, in denying their bid to review the case, the Court leaves in place the rule in the Fifth Circuit, that the First Amendment can’t be invoked to challenge a library’s decision “about which books to buy, which books to keep, or which books to remove.”

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‘No Way’: Joe Biden Can’t Find Donors For His Presidential Library

Joe Biden has set his sights on establishing a presidential library, but he’s confronting a familiar obstacle: no one seems willing to foot the bill.

According to NBC News, the former president is trying to fundraise for the construction of the Joe Biden Presidential Library, but donors are simply not interested.

Their report stated:

Former President Joe Biden is running into a problem in his nascent effort to raise money for a presidential library: Donors are checked out.

Most of the more than half a dozen people who were once major Biden donors or bundlers who spoke with NBC News said they harbored no ill will toward Biden himself but either wouldn’t give to the library or would give only a token amount. A number of them requested anonymity to speak frankly.

They cited a range of factors, from not wanting to make themselves a target of the White House to holding their financial firepower for the party’s future. Some cited personal interactions with Biden’s inner circle as being so distasteful they believed it would be a barrier to ever raising significant funds for the 46th president of the United States.

Biden also faces residual anger from the party over his decision to seek a second term despite health issues.

Since Franklin D. Roosevelt, every U.S. president has opened a library to showcase their time in office.

These libraries hold official records, personal papers, and exhibits designed to shape how future generations view each presidency.

The catch is that presidents have to raise the money themselves.

Construction is privately funded, usually through donations from wealthy backers and corporate allies, before the library is handed over to the National Archives to run.

Successful fundraising has become a key test of how much influence and goodwill a president retains after leaving office.

Given that Biden is suffering from prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, the 46th president now faces a race against time to secure the funding for such a project. C

Couple that with his disastrous political legacy, and the likelihood of seeing a presidential library completed in his lifetime looks increasingly remote.

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Eyewatering financial records of Barack Obama’s ‘eyesore’ library

Barack Obama‘s foundation center’s staggering $850 million cost has been fueled by soaring operational budgets and huge salaries for executives, a new financial report has revealed. 

Construction of the former president’s namesake center campus has already surpassed the total budget set out when Obama first proposed the building before he left the White House. 

Situated in the South Side of Chicago in Jackson Park, the towering grey monolith-like property will serve as the headquarters of the Obama Foundation and will house a museum, library and education center dedicated to his eight years as president. 

It was initially estimated to cost $300 million, before the budget was revised to $500 million in 2017, and then again to $700 million in 2021. 

In an annual financial disclosure form released last week, the foundation reported spending an extra $90 million to prepare exhibits and $40 million in operating costs for the first year alone. 

Executives at the center raked in a total of $6.1 million and are among the best paid of all cultural centers in the nation, with CEO Valerie Jarrett paid $740,000 last year. 

OPC Executive Vice President Robbin Cohen earned $610,195 and Tina Chen, the organization’s chief legal and people officer, earned about $425,000. 

Although the cost of all artworks is not clear, the museum recently installed an 83-foot painted glass window by artist Julie Mehretu to its exterior to beautify the grey building’s exterior. 

Despite the soaring costs of the site, fundraising to Obama’s foundation has stayed high and surpassed $1 billion thanks to a $195 million cash injection last year, the foundation said in its recent financial report. 

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Man burns 100 library books; residents donate 1,000 more to local libraries

In Beachwood, the community is rallying together after a man reportedly burned 100 books from the local library — and filmed himself doing it.

For Kate Anderson Foley, books are more than just words on a page.

“These are our words, these are our lived experiences,” said Foley.

As the author of a children’s book about a young girl named Ida finding her voice in a world filled with hate, Foley has experienced that power firsthand.

“She comes to the realization there are many people like her, like us, that are gathered here to be able to say, let’s stand up and speak out,” said Foley.

What angers her most is when those pages are destroyed.

“It’s hurtful, no doubt about it,” said Foley.

On Monday, members of an Interfaith Group Against Hate (IGAH) gathered outside Fairmount Presbyterian Church to stand united against hate. This comes after reports that a man checked out 100 books related to race, religion, and LGBTQ+ topics from the Cuyahoga County Public Library in Beachwood — then burned them in a video posted to social media.

On April 22, the man checked out 50 books from the library relating to those topics and posted a photo of a car trunk full of books with a caption relating to “cleansing” the libraries, Beachwood Police said.

The books in the trunk of the car in the photo appeared to match the topics of books checked out by the man and had Cuyahoga County Public Library stickers on them.

The library was tipped off to the photo, and when he returned to pick up 50 more books, he said his son was a part of the LGBTQ+ community and he was trying to learn more, police said.

When a video of the man burning the books surfaced on social media, the library was tipped off once again. In the video, the books appeared to match the theme and titles of the books listed above. The video shows one book with a Cuyahoga County Public Library sticker on it, and matches one of the specific books checked out by the man.

“It was a man’s voice and image and foreboding tones describing the need to cleanse the community of the library of the books that he was setting a fire,” said Robert Nosanchuk, the Senior Rabbi at Congregation Mishkan Or.

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President Trump Abruptly Fires Obama-Appointed Librarian of Congress Who Pushed ‘Sexual Identity’ on Children

President Trump abruptly fired the Democrat Librarian of Congress on Thursday.

Carla Hayden, an Obama appointee who pushed sexual identity on children was informed on Thursday that President Trump had fired her.

AP reported:

President Donald Trump abruptly fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Thursday as the White House continues to purge the federal government of those perceived to oppose the president and his agenda.

Hayden was notified in an email late Thursday from the White House’s Presidential Personnel Office, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press. Confirmed by the Senate to the job in 2016, Hayden was the first woman and the first African American to be librarian of Congress.

“Carla,” the email began. “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.” A spokesperson for the Library of Congress confirmed that the White House told Hayden she was dismissed.

Last week conservative watchdog group The American Accountability Foundation (AAF) called on President Donald Trump to remove Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and U.S. Copyright Office Director Shira Perlmutter, accusing the duo of operating as ideological operatives for the radical Left.

“The President and his team have done an admirable and long-needed job cleaning out deep state liberals from the federal government,” AAF told Daily Mail.

“It is time they show Carla Hayden and Shira Perlmutter the door and return an America First agenda to the nation’s intellectual property regulation,” he added.

AAF wrote, “America’s “Librarian,” Carla Hayden: Obama appointee, Biden-Harris crony, Top Clinton donor. And she’s been using the Library of Congress to push “sexual identity” on children. HAYDEN’S GOT TO GO!”

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Why Is the American Library Association Whitewashing the History of Ukrainian Nazis?

America’s largest library association, which annually hands out prestigious literary prizes such as the John Newbery Medal for children’s literature, the Caldecott Medal for picture books for children, the Stonewall Award for LBGTQ+ books for young readers, and the Coretta Scott King award for African American authors and illustrators, has recently honored two authors with a track record of whitewashing Nazi collaborators.

This January, the American Library Association (ALA) published a list of Best Historical Materials for 2023, which includes Enemy Archives: Soviet Counterinsurgency Operations and the Ukrainian Nationalist Movement—Selections from the Secret Police Archives.

This compendium of Soviet documents was edited by Volodymyr Viatrovych and Lubomyr Luciuk. Viatrovych, who is currently a deputy in the Ukrainian parliament, is notorious for drafting laws glorifying Ukrainian Nazi collaborators and Holocaust perpetrators. He’s been condemned by Jewish organizations as well as the governments of Poland and Israel. Luciuk, a professor in Canada’s elite military college, has defended a Third Reich division accused of war crimes.

The ALA’s influence reaches beyond awards: The world’s largest library association plays a key role in lobbying Congress for federal funding, and runs Booklist magazine, which covers soon-to-be published titles; receiving a Booklist review is an important step on the road to successful publication.

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Author of the 1619 Project charged public library $40k for a  speech, causing it to go over-budget

Nikole Hannah-Jones, a former New York Times journalist, was paid $40,000 for a 45-minute speech at a high school in Arlington, Va., which is just a few miles from Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she is a tenured professor.

Her speech was part of a three-hour program held by the Arlington Public Library, and it provided her an opportunity to promote her new book, “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story,” according to The Daily Wire.

The fee paid to Hannah-Jones created some tension between the Friends of the Library, which raises money to fund events such as this, and the library itself. It caused the library to exceed its budget by $7,500. She also added a clause to the agreement that there would be no recording of her speech, with a $100,000 penalty if that were to be violated.

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