[Libs-Or] From IFC - Congratulations to Crook County

[Intellectual Freedom Committee]

Hello OLA Community,
The IFC would like to recognize the efforts of the Crook County Staff and
Library Director, April Witteveen for their efforts to uphold Intellectual
Freedom and to fight for the equitable access to materials within their
collections.  This fight for equality and inclusion has been a long and
stressful one and we are proud of the outcome to keep the LGBTQ materials
in the kids section, along with all other materials for the age group.

In a 1943 Supreme Court case ruling citing the First Amendment (West
Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette), Justice Robert Jackson
wrote "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it
is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in
politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion...".


By rejecting the proposal to selectively create a distinction of segregated
shelving based on objections of some to a particular viewpoint or
representing a protected class, the officials of the library board upheld
their ethical, legal, and Constitutional duties. In upholding the Library
Bill of Rights, the vote recognizes the under-represented and marginalized
members of the community and takes a stand against  the bullying and
disrimination that has been allowed to occur. The IFC would like to
recognize the pain that this situation has caused the members of the LGBTQ
community and are hopeful in our continued fight for equality and
inclusion.


We applaud the Crook County citizens who spoke up to defend the individual
liberty and privacy threatened by the misguided proposal. And we commend
Library Director April Witteveen and the four Crook County Library board
members who voted to honor their oath of office to State and Federal
Constitutions, laws thereof, and to American values.



#LetFreedomRead. Libraries are for all.
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