Not your mother's librarian -- beware of the ALA's radical agenda

Front Page Magazine ^ | May 8, 2003 | Paul Walfield

[Piranha]

The ALA Library: Terrorist Sanctuary By Paul Walfield FrontPageMagazine.com | May 8, 2003

The American Library Association has signed up for battle in the War on Terrorism; unfortunately, it has signed up to fight the Bush Administration and the USA PATRIOT Act. Siding with civil libertarians against public safety is just the ALA’s most recent leftist act of political defiance. However, this is their most corrosive stance for the well-being of all Americans, undermining and sabotaging public efforts to stave off terrorism. ...

ALA librarians are not the quiet, unassuming stereotypes you see on TV and in the movies. For example, in 1998, the ALA voiced their opposition to the bombing of Iraq. The Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) is the self-proclaimed "conscience of the ALA." The SRRT "is a unit within the American Library Association. It works to make ALA more democratic and to establish progressive priorities not only for the Association, but also for the entire profession. Concern for human and economic rights was an important element in the founding of SRRT and remains an urgent concern today. SRRT believes that libraries and librarians must recognize and help solve social problems and inequities in order to carry out their mandate to work for the common good and bolster democracy." ALA executive director Mary Ghikas stated "The Action Council of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association voices its opposition to the planned US-led attacks on the nation of Iraq." The librarians seemed unconcerned that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein had made inspections of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction sites impossible, or that Iraq had been obligated t9o do so under the cease-fire agreement following the first Gulf War.

In June of 2002, the ALA under the auspices of their SRRT section, took sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, condemning Israel. The ALA demanded that the United States and other nations do all they can to "prevent further destruction of libraries and cultural resources" in Palestinian territories by Israel. The December 2002 SRRT newsletter condemned, "the destruction of the facilities in the universities and colleges of the West Bank." When confronted with the fact that any destruction at the time took place during a war (the so-called intifada by the Palestinians against Israel) the ALA’s President Mitch Freedman responded by saying, "ALA policy does not differentiate between deliberate or unintentional destruction. Whether it is intentional or unintentional, justified or unjustified, the destruction of libraries, library collections, and property [is deplored by the ALA]." No condemnation of terrorists was made by the ALA, just a condemnation of Israel’s defensive measures. To underscore his amti-Israeli views, President Freedman screened a documentary about Noam Chomsky and a speech by Amy Goodman, the far-left hostess of the Democracy Now radio show, at this January’s Midwinter meeting in Philadelphia.

On March 5, 2003, the ALA argued before the Supreme Court of the United States that the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was a very bad idea. So far, as of March 2003, our librarians have spent 1.7 million dollars in fighting the implementation of CIPA in the courts. CIPA mere states that libraries should filter internet access to eliminate " visual depictions that are obscene, contain child pornography or are harmful to minors." The librarians feel that shielding children from obscenity is a breach of their commitment to our country’s youth. How many parents are aware that our librarians, instead of wanting to protect our children from obscenity, choose to fight against that protection?

....

Browsing the SRRT website from within ALA’s, you are directed to links that explore "Cuban Library tours and Conferences." To show their solidarity, "this year’s Libraries tour ... (will visit) with librarians, staff and Library Directors from public, academic, special and school libraries. Speak with the staff and experience what their working situations are like... find out for yourself the real Cuba." No mention of the possibility that Cubans, in Cuba have much to fear if they were to tell any outsider about "the real Cuba." Other attractions include "optional opportunities for music, dance and theatre"; evidently the tour of the island's gulags is not on the agenda, although such a stop would give these timid librarians an unforgettable glimpse of "the real Cuba."

....

In the war against Iraq, the librarians were beside themselves, "The American Library Association grieves for and deplores the catastrophic losses to Iraq's cultural heritage that have already occurred with the destruction of the National Library Archives and the Islamic library. Cultural heritage is as important as oil. Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy and are vital resources in the re-establishment of a civil society. We urge the administration to ensure that in the future the necessary resources will be made available to prevent further catastrophes," said ALA President Maurice J. (Mitch) Freedman.

....

All this has taken place despite the ALA’s tax-exempt 501(c)3 status.

....

[zarf]

Didn't Paul Warfield play for the Dolphins in the 70's?? /sarc

[livius]

Sadly, this is too true. My sister was a librarian (until fleeing to take up more interesting work elsewhere) and told me that she stopped going to ALA meetings when they tried to pass a pro-abortion resolution. Abortion is clearly something that is very important to books, right?

The ALA is a totally left-wing organization.

[Conan the Librarian]

"The ALA is a totally left-wing organization."

One reason I am not a memeber. The ALA has become an embarrasment to many librarians. In our system, we Do respect privacy, but, if the FEDs have a warrent...we would help them out.

[Grut]

Siding with civil libertarians against public safety is just the ALA’s most recent leftist act of political defiance.

So, do we need to get all upset about it? I mean, political defiance! Next thing you know, it'll be lese majeste in Pocatello, Idaho, and the Union trembling as standards crumble everywhere!

[SauronOfMordor]

My sister was a librarian (until fleeing to take up more interesting work elsewhere) and told me that she stopped going to ALA meetings when they tried to pass a pro-abortion resolution.

Leftist activists specialize in the art of how to infiltrate organizations and take them over. It's what they do, and it's what they've done for a long, long time

Any organization that is not overtly right-wing (and thus would continually drive out any left-wingers that showed up), and which has a role in controlling or influencing any significant aspect of the culture, will eventually be taken over