Review: Librarians to the Defense: Groups form to fight a conservative-led attack on libraries' efforts to promote social justice

Bader, E.J. (2021, October 19). Librarians to the defense: Groups form to fight a conservative-led attack on libraries' efforts to promote social justice. The Progressive Magazine. https://progressive.org/magazine/librarians-to-the-defense-bader/ 

This mentions many great programs that libraries around the country are conducting that promote inclusivity and awareness. One such program was a Holocaust book discussion group run by librarian Jeannie Ferriss for the Whitehall Community Library. Ferriss stated she mentioned the Holocaust to a group of young adults, and they had not heard of it before. Like me, upon hearing this news, Ferriss was very surprised, and that's when the idea of a Holocaust book discussion group began. The program is for 14–17-year-old teens and invites adults to join. It not only involves book discussion, but also offers visits to a Holocaust Memorial Museum, lectures by rabbis, and "discussion with both a Holocaust survivor and a former soldier who helped liberate the concentration camps".

There are numerous other initiatives across public libraries that seek to “protect against the distortion of history” by archiving pamphlets, leaflets, posters, prints, and other historical artifacts. 

However, the article also points out the pushback against these initiatives. Specifically, they point out what happened at the Niles-Maine District Library in Niles, Illinois. Right wing groups were able to win most seats on the library’s board and proceeded to influence library policy. They ended programs that “distributed books to the homebound and people who live in nursing homes; [cut] the overnight cleaning crew; [reduced] the adult services budget by $150,000; and [slashed] the number of [open] hours”. 

They did this because they believed that libraries should be run like businesses, aimed at saving taxpayer funds, and not as community enrichment organizations. They also won the conservative majority because only 8.4 percent of eligible voters participated in the election. 

It is important for organizations that support library programming aimed at inclusiveness and diversity, to be active at library board meetings, and in the community when there are important elections for board seats or library funding initiatives. The article mentions a referendum to fund renovations for a library in Plainfield, Illinois. Right wing organizations rebranded the referendum as a “property tax and paid for robo-calls to urge people to vote ‘no’.” The message was to vote no on taxes, not to vote yes on libraries. It is all about what message the community hears. There is support for libraries, but community members must be active to counter the message of right-wing organizations.