Library Worker Defends Patron’s Free Speech, Is Brutally Arrested in Library Where He Works

From BORDC:


“For someone to be assaulted and then arrested for asking a question, in a public library of all places, is abhorrent. The library should be a place where people of all points of view can feel safe and welcome,” Steve Woolfolk, director of public programming at the Kansas City Public Library told the Dissent NewsWire.

But that is exactly what happened during a question and answer session with former Bush Administration official and current Washington Institute for Near East Policy distinguished fellow Dennis Ross, when a local activist was arrested after asking Ross a question.

“I have spent the last 10 years of my life trying to cultivate that atmosphere through public programming at the library. Library staff should be the final arbiters of what constitutes reasonable discourse at a public event held inside a public library,” Woolfolk explained to the Dissent NewsWire. Yet, when he tried to intervene on the questioner’s behalf, Woolfolk found himself arrested at an event he helped plan.

The Kansas City Public Library is no stranger to hosting events, sometimes with controversial speakers.

Daily Kos: The Koch brothers' vision for America includes destroying your public library

From Daily Kos:

The library [in Plainfield, Illinois], currently an anchor for downtown and is a much-loved and heavily used part of the community. They are asking for a 20-year bond and a small increase in property taxes. The end result will be a brand new library that is three times larger than the current library, still in downtown, and will feature new technology, public meeting spaces, classrooms, and more space for books DVDs and other materials for the community.

So of course the Kochs’ most invasive arm, Americans for Prosperity, had to step in, because FREEDOM!!! They never met a tax increase for the public good they didn't have to destroy, like the Columbus Zoo funding referendum a few years ago. They killed that—and they helped kill the Plainfield Library, too.

They ran anti-library robo calls (seriously, anti-library!) and they won. Not only will Plainfield not get the new library building, but "a 20 percent cut to services and programs will be needed to keep the existing building functional in the long term."

Voters to Choose Two Albany Public Library Trustees on May 20

Four candidates will be on the May 20 ballot for two seats on the Albany Public Library Board of Trustees. Andrew Bechard of Forest Avenue, Jose Lopez of View Avenue, Alison Calacone of Ramsey Place, and Anthony Gooding of Clinton Avenue all submitted valid nominating petitions to the City School District of Albany to obtain positions on the ballot.

The candidates are seeking to fill two trustee positions that both carry five-year terms. Holly McKenna has chosen not to run for re-election, while Andrew Bechard is running to keep his seat.

The public is invited to a candidate forum at the Main Library’s large auditorium on Monday, May 5, at 6 p.m. The trustee candidates have been invited to speak to the public. Library leaders will also present the 2015 library budget, which is a flat spending plan that carries no tax levy increase.

The library trustee vote is held in conjunction with the school district’s budget vote. More information about trustee candidates will be available on the library’s website. Details about voting locations will be available on the school district’s website at www.albanyschools.org.

SlimeKids: School LIbrary MEdia Kids

SlimeKids is a website for elementary/middle school-age kids; it's a free site.

"SlimeKids features an extensive collection of book trailers organized by year and by grade level as well as numerous language arts-related games in such categories as word, literacy, spelling, typing, vocabulary and grammar. Additionally, the website showcases an array of exceptional literacy-related resources such as author and book review websites as well as superb learning tools including reference works and search engines."

Alzheimer’s Association's Green-Field Library

The Alzheimer's Association Green-Field Library is excited to celebrate National Library Week. Located at the national headquarters in Chicago, it is one of the largest library and resource centers devoted to increasing the knowledge about Alzheimer's disease and other dementia.

There's no shortage of information on Alzheimer's disease, but where to start? What articles offer practical answers? Which resources can you trust?

The expert library staff has assembled a collection of the most useful, informative and up-to-date books, journals, research studies, videos, databases, social media resources and more. And it's free!

Get started online now at alz.org/library or call 800.272.3900 to learn more.

Inside Guantanamo's library

Charlie Savage writes in the New York Times of the books on offer to prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, which include a set of Indiana Jones novelizations, some Star Trek: TNG novels, Ender's Game, Arabic editions of Danielle Steele, and some Captain America graphic novels. Some of the prisoners arrived in Gitmo able to read English, other have learned during their 10-year incarceration. One lawyer brought in copies of Nineteen Eighty-Four for his client, Shaker Aamer, who said, "it perfectly captured the psychological reality of being at Gitmo."

More HERE.

Vatican's Magnificent Library Restored After 3 Years

$11.5 Million Restoration
Researchers Can Use the Library, But Only the Pope Can Borrow a Book
By ANN WISE
ROME Sept.13, 2010

Lincoln’s notes fetch $3 million for Dryden library

Christie's auctions 1864 manuscript

The ALBANY PUBLIC LIBRARY WILL BE CLOSED

Thursday, November 20- Staff Development Day
Thursday, November 27-Thanksgiving
Friday, November 28- Thanksgiving