ALA Denounces Library Destruction at Occupy Wall Street
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Editor: Henry Reichman, California State University, East Bay Founding Editor: Judith F. Krug (1940–2009) Publisher: Barbara Jones Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association ISSN 0028-9485 January 2012 Vol. LXI No. 1 www.ala.org/nif The American Library Association has denounced the destruction of books at a library established by Occupy Wall Street demonstrators when New York police raided a park where protesters were staying. The People’s Library, a library constructed by the New York Occupy Wall Street move- ment, was seized in the early morning hours of November 15 by the New York Police Department during a planned raid to evict Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park. The library held a collection of more than 5,000 items and provided free access ALA to books, magazines, newspapers and other materials. According to ALA members who visited the site, the library reflected many of ALA’s core intellectual freedom values and denounces best practices—a balanced, cataloged collection, representing diverse points of view, that included children’s books and reference service often provided by professional librarians library “The dissolution of a library is unacceptable,” said a statement by ALA President Molly Raphael. “Libraries serve as the cornerstone of our democracy and must be safeguarded.” destruction at During what the New York Police Department described as a temporary cleaning of Zuccotti Park, the library was torn down in the dark of night and its books, laptops, Occupy Wall archives, and support materials were thrown into dumpsters by armed police and city sani- tation workers. Numerous library staff were arrested, and, in one case, a librarian strapped the notebooks of original poetry from the library’s poetry readings to her body before Street lending aid to others who had been pepper-sprayed. The library had reached new levels of growth with laptops, a Wi-Fi hub, and a tent donated by author and rock legend Patti Smith and dubbed “Fort Patti.” The library also had thousands of circulating volumes. Library staff prided themselves on their collection, the entirety of which was donated by private citizens and corporations for the general pub- lic good. The collection included the holy books of every faith, books reflecting the entire political spectrum, and works for all ages on a huge range of topics. These were thrown into dumpsters amidst tents, tables, blankets, and anything else on the Zuccotti Park site. Hours later, the Mayor’s Office announced that the property taken from Zuccotti, including the library, was safely stored at a Sanitation Garage in Manhattan and could be picked up the following day. But when the librarians visited the storage facility, they said it was a sorry sight. Only 1,273 books - a third of the stock - were returned to them, they (continued on page 36) Published by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, Martin Garnar, Chair Slavery By Another Name ���������������������������������������������������7 in this issue Tintin in the Congo [Belgium] ������������������������������������������17 The Wars [Canada] ������������������������������������������������������������36 ALA denounces library destruction at Occupy Wall Street �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������1 theater Cat on a Hot Tin Roof �������������������������������������������������������10 California campuses embroiled in free speech Zanna, Don’t! ��������������������������������������������������������������������12 controversies �����������������������������������������������������������������������3 scientific report ACLU pressures districts to ease Internet filtering ������������5 The State of the Bay ����������������������������������������������������������16 when school web filtering comes home �����������������������������5 essay “Three Hundred Ramayanas” [India & England] ������������19 ALA calls for Penguin group to restore e-book access to library patrons ���������������������������������������������������������������������6 Kansas governor apologizes to tweeting teen���������������������6 Texas history education standards receive dismal reviews �6 banned books in prisons �����������������������������������������������������7 SUPPORT THE defend the freedom to read: it’s everybody’s job ���������������8 MERRITT FUND censorship dateline: libraries, schools, publishing, colleges and universities, foreign ������������������������������������������������������9 WWW.MERRITTFUND.ORG from the bench: U.S. Supreme Court, university, broadcasting ����������������������������������������������������������������������21 is it legal?: libraries, university, USA PATRIOT Act, prepublication review, Internet �����������������������������������������25 success stories: library, schools, university ����������������������35 Views of contributors to the Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom are not necessarily those of the editors, the Intellectual Freedom Committee, or the American Library Association. targets of the censor (ISSN 0028-9485) Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom is published bimonthly (Jan., books Mar., May, July, Sept., Nov.) by the American Library Association, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian ��������9, 13 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. The newsletter is also avail- The Bluest Eye ������������������������������������������������������������������11 able online at www.ala.org/nif. Subscriptions: $70 per year (print), Collected Essays (of A.K. Ramanujan) �����������������������������20 which includes annual index; $50 per year (electronic); and $85 Hold Still 9 per year (both print and electronic). For multiple subscriptions ����������������������������������������������������������������������������� to the same address, and for back issues, please contact the The Human Factor: Inside the CIA’s Dysfunctional Office for Intellectual Freedom at 800-545-2433, ext. 4223 or Intelligence Culture ������������������������������������������������������30 [email protected]. Editorial mail should be addressed to the Office of In Cold Blood ��������������������������������������������������������������������35 Intellectual Freedom, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, Illinois 60611. Montana 1948 35 Periodical postage paid at Chicago, IL and at additional mailing ������������������������������������������������������������������ offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Newsletter on Operation Dark Heart ������������������������������������������������������30 Intellectual Freedom, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. The Princess and the Penis �����������������������������������������������13 2 Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom California campuses embroiled in particular, student tuition on costly and avoidable expenses free speech controversies associated with violence or vandalism.” Vice Chancellor Harry LeGrande told demonstrators The University of California, at whose flagship Berkeley that they could stay on the site 24 hours a day if they did campus the 1964 Free Speech Movement effectively estab- not use tents or cooking gear. “We hope you will work with lished the right of American college students at public one another and with us to follow our guidelines,” he said. universities to freely organize and protest, is once again Those arrested were English professor Celeste Langan embroiled in controversy over nonviolent student dissent. and UC Berkeley students Sonja Diaz, Zahide Atli, Ramon On November 9, Berkeley students and faculty, gathered Quintero, Ricardo Gomez, Timothy Fisken and Zakary to nonviolently defend a student “Occupy” encampment, Habash. were attacked by police with batons and several were That evening crowds regrouped and there were further arrested. One faculty member was thrown to the ground by arrests. Campus police, aided by Alameda County sheriff’s her hair before being arrested. Another professor suffered deputies, had arrested 40 people by the next afternoon, a broken rib. Then, on November 18, in an incident that including 32 students, one professor and seven people not riveted the nation, at the Davis campus, nonviolent students affiliated with the campus. Most were arrested November 9, defending a similar encampment were calmly and repeat- but one man was detained the next morning after setting up edly pepper sprayed by police while sitting peacefully on a tent on the steps in front of Sproul Hall. the ground. The demonstrations were on the site Mario Savio and YouTube videos of the incidents quickly “went viral,” other Free Speech Movement leaders used for their protests prompting widespread indignation throughout the univer- in the mid-1960s. sity system and nationwide. By late November more than Students and professors reacted angrily to the police 2.3 million viewers had viewed the most watched video of response, saying officers used too much force against non- the Davis incident. The Berkeley footage had garnered over violent protesters, who joined arms and blocked access to a million views. Portions of the videos were also rebroad- the encampment. But police and campus officials said they cast on national news shows. Stephen Colbert featured the had given demonstrators ample time to remove their tents, Berkeley video on his show, commenting “Look at these and they said the resistance to police orders could not be vicious students attacking these billy clubs with their soft, considered nonviolent protest. jab-able bellies!” “The campus is not a campground and we will do At Berkeley, police in riot gear tore down