Posted on Aug 23, 2022
Conservatives in Idaho target 400 library books — but the library didn’t even own them
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For months, a group of conservative Christians have inundated the staff and board of a public library in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, with complaints about books they didn’t want to see on the shelves.
Their list of more than 400 titles predominantly focuses on young adult books with LGBTQ characters, scenes describing sexual activity or invoking the occult.
The only problem: None of the books are in the library’s collection.
Still, the activists in this town of 2,500 people wanted the books pre-emptively banned. They fumed that the library planned to join the American Library Association, a nonprofit trade organization known for fighting censorship that local activists falsely accused of “promoting pedophilia.” They started a campaign to recall four of the five library trustees over a policy against restricting access to controversial books, putting up signs around town that read: “Our Mission is to protect children from explicit materials and grooming.”
Their list of more than 400 titles predominantly focuses on young adult books with LGBTQ characters, scenes describing sexual activity or invoking the occult.
The only problem: None of the books are in the library’s collection.
Still, the activists in this town of 2,500 people wanted the books pre-emptively banned. They fumed that the library planned to join the American Library Association, a nonprofit trade organization known for fighting censorship that local activists falsely accused of “promoting pedophilia.” They started a campaign to recall four of the five library trustees over a policy against restricting access to controversial books, putting up signs around town that read: “Our Mission is to protect children from explicit materials and grooming.”
Conservatives in Idaho target 400 library books — but the library didn’t even own them
Posted from nbcnews.com
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Bonners Ferry
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The library is 5 miles down the road from me. Going from the best small library in the US four years ago to this takes a lot of chutzpah on all sides who care more about their wokeness or Godliness than the library. Combine that with interesting legal actions involving the library board not having proper elections, the County Clerk not doing her job regarding elections, tax bills to residents by an organization we don't vote for, and the list is endless. This stuff could have been nipped in the bud if things were essentially set up like Los Angeles' system when I was a kid. Back in the day, there was a section for "over 18" by the librarian's desk. But the Board essentially said, they will decide which books and if sensitive, just put a sticker on the binder. That amped up the other side even more. The books in question can be obtained upon request, but that wasn't enough. Bottom line, it has been a predictable outcome when two sides want to have a fight.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."‘They’re spreading lies’
Glidden, who previously worked at a library in neighboring Sandpoint, Idaho, started in December as the Boundary County library director and reviewed its policies to ensure they were up to date.
In June, the board of trustees voted to update the rules for selecting materials, requiring a variety of viewpoints to be reflected in the titles on the shelves. The updated materials selection policy also vowed that the library will “not place materials on ‘closed shelves’ or label items to protect the public from their content.” It passed by a vote of 3-1, with one member absent.
Then the pressure ramped up.
Capurso, a real estate agent and activist, arranged a meeting in July to organize a recall of the library trustees, accusing board members of voting to expose children to “adult only” material “without listening to ‘We the People’ regarding their actions before their votes.”
“We need to avert this travesty being promulgated by the far left, not just here, but all over our nation,” Capurso, who calls herself a “patriot journalist” wrote on a blog affiliated with the American Redoubt, a far-right migration movement seeking to establish a safe haven in the Northwest for conservative Christians.
At least three times in the last three months, a woman has blown a shofar horn outside the library, according to Glidden and security footage obtained by NBC News. (Shofars, typically made from ram’s horns, are part of Jewish traditions, but Christians have increasingly used them as a message of spiritual warfare.)
Glidden said people have falsely accused her of “grooming children for pedophiles,” and her staff has started dining and shopping in neighboring counties to avoid conflicts. Critics of the library have called the censorship conflict a “spiritual battle for the hearts and minds of children,” on Facebook.
“They’re spreading lies, they’re destroying lives and they’re doing it with impunity,” Glidden said. “They’re putting on this cloak of religion, but I’m not sure what god they worship.”
Library trustee Kenneth Blockhan, who said he considers himself religious, said he has concerns about the amount of discussion of LGBTQ issues in public school curricula. But he said he is disturbed by the call to ban books from the public library and believes it’s part of a larger movement to impose puritan standards on the community.
“The library is not a day care,” he said. “If you’re a parent, you are the responsible party for checking out books that your children need to read. It’s not the library’s responsibility. It is the parent’s responsibility to make sure that their children are not getting a hold of the bad stuff or whatever to sit there and read.”
At the library’s Aug. 18 board meeting, two days after Glidden announced resignation plans, multiple people reiterated their complaints about how Glidden and the trustees have dealt with book ban requests. Several people cited Bible verses and warned board members and Glidden that they’re bringing a curse on themselves.
Glidden said she plans to stay on until Sept. 10. She said she and her family are still plotting where they will go next, but she vowed it would not be a red state.
“This is a publicly funded library,” Glidden said. “That means what they’re ultimately going to demand that I do is actually end up being in violation of the Constitution,” she said, referring to the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. “I’d rather be someone accused of having naughty books than be in violation of the Constitution.”
..."‘They’re spreading lies’
Glidden, who previously worked at a library in neighboring Sandpoint, Idaho, started in December as the Boundary County library director and reviewed its policies to ensure they were up to date.
In June, the board of trustees voted to update the rules for selecting materials, requiring a variety of viewpoints to be reflected in the titles on the shelves. The updated materials selection policy also vowed that the library will “not place materials on ‘closed shelves’ or label items to protect the public from their content.” It passed by a vote of 3-1, with one member absent.
Then the pressure ramped up.
Capurso, a real estate agent and activist, arranged a meeting in July to organize a recall of the library trustees, accusing board members of voting to expose children to “adult only” material “without listening to ‘We the People’ regarding their actions before their votes.”
“We need to avert this travesty being promulgated by the far left, not just here, but all over our nation,” Capurso, who calls herself a “patriot journalist” wrote on a blog affiliated with the American Redoubt, a far-right migration movement seeking to establish a safe haven in the Northwest for conservative Christians.
At least three times in the last three months, a woman has blown a shofar horn outside the library, according to Glidden and security footage obtained by NBC News. (Shofars, typically made from ram’s horns, are part of Jewish traditions, but Christians have increasingly used them as a message of spiritual warfare.)
Glidden said people have falsely accused her of “grooming children for pedophiles,” and her staff has started dining and shopping in neighboring counties to avoid conflicts. Critics of the library have called the censorship conflict a “spiritual battle for the hearts and minds of children,” on Facebook.
“They’re spreading lies, they’re destroying lives and they’re doing it with impunity,” Glidden said. “They’re putting on this cloak of religion, but I’m not sure what god they worship.”
Library trustee Kenneth Blockhan, who said he considers himself religious, said he has concerns about the amount of discussion of LGBTQ issues in public school curricula. But he said he is disturbed by the call to ban books from the public library and believes it’s part of a larger movement to impose puritan standards on the community.
“The library is not a day care,” he said. “If you’re a parent, you are the responsible party for checking out books that your children need to read. It’s not the library’s responsibility. It is the parent’s responsibility to make sure that their children are not getting a hold of the bad stuff or whatever to sit there and read.”
At the library’s Aug. 18 board meeting, two days after Glidden announced resignation plans, multiple people reiterated their complaints about how Glidden and the trustees have dealt with book ban requests. Several people cited Bible verses and warned board members and Glidden that they’re bringing a curse on themselves.
Glidden said she plans to stay on until Sept. 10. She said she and her family are still plotting where they will go next, but she vowed it would not be a red state.
“This is a publicly funded library,” Glidden said. “That means what they’re ultimately going to demand that I do is actually end up being in violation of the Constitution,” she said, referring to the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. “I’d rather be someone accused of having naughty books than be in violation of the Constitution.”
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