[Libs-Or] Follett/Destiny Petition

Fri Apr 1 16:54:40 PDT 2022

Hi,

Below is from a message that Miranda Doyle posted to the OASL listserv this afternoon. Good news!

Jen

Jen Maurer, MLS (she/her)
School Library Consultant, State Library of Oregon
jennifer.maurer at slo.oregon.gov<mailto:jennifer.maurer at slo.oregon.gov> | 971-375-3540 | https://www.oregon.gov/library/libraries
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Hi all,

WOW! Our voices (and $$$) are powerful. Don't mess with librarians or the freedom to read.

Thank you all for speaking out and acting so quickly on this - I'll close the petition form - and perhaps change the petition to a "thank you for not doing this terrible thing" letter.

_______

The webinar is cancelled<https://follett.zoom.us/webinar/register/9016486469995/WN_cN8yRm00QXCYwYh4vhjUbg?j=111351&sfmc_sub=17857837&l=171_HTML&u=4537585&mid=100016608&jb=15004&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=MarketingCloud&utm_content=join+us+for+a+webchat> and Follett says this - emphasis mine:

Greetings,

Following continued feedback and discussions with librarians and industry partners regarding a potential parental control module for Destiny Library Manager, we have concluded we will NOT proceed with any plans to develop this module and as a result, will be cancelling Monday’s webchat.

At Follett, our mission is to support librarians and get books into the hands of students. We support the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, and we are focused on advancing – not limiting – the role of the librarian and the school library.

We take very seriously the feedback we have received from librarians and our industry partners regarding legislation on these matters. We will continue to work directly with impacted districts to understand these new laws.

Thanks for your continued support.

Best,

Britten Follett, CEO, Follett, Content
Paul Ilse, CEO, Follett, Software

______
Thanks,
Miranda Doyle (she/her)
District Teacher-Librarian, Lake Oswego
📚 🔍 Read & Listen: LOSD ebooks<http://soraapp.com/library/lakeoswegoor/>
💻   Tech Ticket<https://losdhelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us>

From: Libs-Or <libs-or-bounces at omls.oregon.gov> On Behalf Of Emily O'Neal via Libs-Or
Sent: Friday, April 1, 2022 9:41 AM
To: libs-or at omls.oregon.gov
Subject: [Libs-Or] Follett/Destiny Petition

Hi all,
I wanted to share with you an update on a censorship concern that has been made public this week coming from Follett and their software program, Destiny.

In short, the school library ILS and collection development company Follett, is rolling out an “optional” update to their ILS, Destiny, which would immediately email parents the titles and synopsis of books their children check-out. It would also allow parents to block their children from reading materials based of subject headings they deem ‘inappropriate’.  If you want to read more about this deeply concerning upgrade see: https://www.forsythnews.com/news/education/forsyth-county-schools-planning-changes-media-centers-book-challenges-2022-23-year/?fbclid=IwAR1t_dC18fmZUTyFWVYsXZ3-Itkm6cC-QDyueKtF9VqyPPXvPaLG8bI_Nxw

To combat this, the OIFC members (huge thanks to Miranda Doyle for spearheading this!) have drafted a petition letter to the President of Follett requesting that they remove this upgrade immediately, based off intellectual freedom rights of students.  See letter petition is linked here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WdpCWImNr-i2dWsd8AoqKzJs2xVEoXqDRliOHtRgplY/edit

We are hoping to gather signature support for this petition over the next 24-48 hours, as Follett is offering an “information session” on Monday and we wanted to share the petition prior to that session.  We are hoping to gather signatures today and email it to the President on Monday.

OIFC is sharing this with you all for three reasons:

  1.  If you would like to sign the petition, please feel free to offer your support
  2.  To be aware that ILS’s are looking at this type of “upgrade” to “comply” with the laws that we are seeing being passed in a number of states
  3.  If you would like to share this petition in your professional networks, please feel free to do so – we would love the support!

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments on this. Thank you again to the OIFC members for being such champions for intellectual freedom!

Emily – Co-Chair OIFC

Emily O’Neal, M.L.S.
Technical Services Manager
Deschutes Public Library
(541) 617-7061
emilyo at deschuteslibrary.org<mailto:emilyo at deschuteslibrary.org>
http://www.deschuteslibrary.org<http://www.deschuteslibrary.org/>
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