For The People Newsletter Vol. XV
For everyone working to strengthen and expand public libraries
SPECIAL FEATURE
We Won! The Struggle to Re-Open the Central City Library in New Orleans
Submitted by the New Orleans Peoples Assembly | April 30, 2024
Unfettered access to well maintained and fully functional public spaces drove our demand for the New Orleans Central City Library to be RE-opened. This public library is in a predominantly Black working-class neighborhood with lack of affordable housing and gentrification. The Central City Library is a vibrant public space. Residents of all ages and backgrounds regularly use the space and resources, paid with our tax dollars.
On Aug 12, 2023 the library doors were locked “temporarily” due to HVAC neglect, eventually leading to mold. Upon learning about the lack of intentional care for Central City Library, it reinforced our community's concern for ALL 16 public libraries within the New Orleans Public Library system. When it became clear that the “temporary” closure would exceed two weeks, our community waged an 8-month long struggle with the library administration, library board, and City of New Orleans to get the HVAC repaired, mold and space remediated, and library BACK open.
The New Orleans Peoples Assembly knew that despite the library doors being locked, the need for it did not go away. Therefore, each Saturday for over 30 weeks, we held community driven Liberation Circles outside. This included read-alouds of culturally relevant, liberating picture books, poems, collective song, political education and updates on the struggle to re-open our library.
We claim no easy victories. Despite the many excuses and unnecessary delays we had to combat toward the re-opening (created by a systematic centering of profit, criminalization, and organized abandonment), we celebrate this important collective win.
This win reminds us that when we prioritize our principles anchored in collective needs, combat apathy, and organize to take collective action, we can win back our resources. The Central City Library re-opened on April 12, 2024, and now, the struggle to maintain, support and protect our public libraries continues.
Learn more and follow the New Orleans Peoples’ Assembly.
Do you have a story to share about organizing your community around public libraries? We’d love to share it! Email us at forthepeoplelibraries@gmail.com.
Libraries and Lemonade Is Back!
Show your support for public libraries this summer by sharing the impact they make on your community while serving up some cold lemonade. Libraries and Lemonade is back this year with resources to help you host your own lemonade stand.
With a social media toolkit, materials to have at your stand (including coloring sheets, scavenger hunts, and fact sheets to fill in with information on your library!), and stats on the benefit of public libraries, For the People has all the things you need to make your support of libraries loud.
$50 grants to purchase materials such as lemons, sugar, cups, and more are also available via a form on our website. For questions about running your stand, applying for the grants, or other general ideas and concerns, reach out to libraries.and.lemonade1@gmail.com.
This year For the People has a volunteer, Zoey Colglazier, helping monitor this email and answering questions, as well as ensuring grants are distributed post-application. She is a MLIS student at UW-Madison and is excited to get involved with For the People and the work to support public libraries. When life gives you book bans, let's make lemonade!
Sign a Letter for NYC's Public Libraries
New York City's upcoming budget proposes the largest cuts to library funding that The New York Public Library has seen in a decade. City budget cuts have already forced NYPL to suspend all Sunday service—now NYPL is looking at most branches being open just five days a week if these proposed cuts go through, as well as less money for books and programs.
Take 30 seconds to show City Hall how important libraries are to you! Add your name to our supporters and your message will be delivered to City leaders.
Reflections from New Friends Members
In 2023, 38 respondents from 20 states indicated that they joined (or took steps towards joining) a Friends of the Library group. We’ve asked people to respond to some questions about their experiences - here’s what Nancy from Hillsdale, NY had to say.
JOINING A FRIENDS GROUP | Nancy in Hillsdale, NY
Which local Friend of the Library group did you join and why did you join?
I joined the Friends of the Roeliff-Jansen Community Library in Hillsdale, New York. This is the description of the Friends group.
What projects have you had a chance to work on through the group?
I volunteer once a month at the used bookstore that the Friends manage and run as a fundraiser for the library. It's a really nice group of women, and I enjoy my time at the bookstore.
What's been the best and also the hardest thing about being part of the group?
The best thing about being part of the group is feeling more plugged into what's going on at the library and in the local community. The hard part is that for the most part my politics are far to the left of most of the other women in the group. It's impossible to talk about the ongoing genocide in Gaza in this space, which makes me feel alienated.
What would you say to encourage others to take a similar action?
The public library is one of the non-commercial spaces where people can gather indoors in their communities. It provides all kinds of services that anyone can access, no matter what their income level. It's important to be involved with the local public library to make sure that it remains funded and to prevent its takeover by groups hostile to access to all kinds of books and reading materials.
Thanks for everything you’re doing, Nancy!
ALL CALLS
Sign up for For The People’s 2025 candidate cohort! If you’re planning to run for your local library board or seek an appointment, we’re here to help you. The waiting list is open, and we plan to kick off the next cohort in early 2025 (January or February). Fill out the cohort application online here. And congratulations to our 2024 cohort, who are finishing up this week - you are an amazing group of folks who are doing real, on the ground work to make your public libraries and communities better!
Are you a currently serving member of a state library board? If so, we want to know about you and help you work with other leftist state library board members! Please send us an email with your details to get connected.
Here’s a roundup of interesting reading and listening material that we think you’ll appreciate. Sometimes, articles may be paywalled. In other totally unrelated news, sometimes a fun thing to do on the internet is to use tools like 12ft.io or the Wayback Machine.
Seattle Public Library announces 1,500 hours of closures in the next eight weeks; library workers say it doesn’t have to be this way (Hannah Krieg for The Stranger)
MAGA Rage Targeting Local Librarians Is Getting Uglier: culture warriors are inventing new ways to make public libraries and schools into nastier, angrier, more divided, less inclusive spaces (The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent podcast featuring Emily Drabinski via The New Republic)
Student Voice: What young people can do about book bans - a first hand account by by Rohan Satija, Texas high school student (via PBS Newshour)
The number of individual books banned by schools is climbing to record levels, according to a new PEN America report Banned in the USA: Narrating the Crisis, which documents over 4,000 instances of book banning during the first half of the current school year--more than in the entire previous 2022-2023 school year. Examining book bans from July to December 2023, the report details book bans in 52 public school districts in 23 states, encompassing both red and blue districts. PEN America has documented more than 10,000 bans over the last two and a half years (July 2021 to December 2023).
The Secret Life of Librarians - In partnership with the American Library Association and the New York Public Library, Carnegie Corporation of New York celebrates ten exceptional librarians every year with the I Love My Librarian Award. The 2024 honorees were chosen from a pool of more than 1,400 community-based nominations and were each awarded a $5,000 prize in recognition of their exceptional public service. The Secret Life of Librarians explores their unexpected stories and contributions as civic heroes who improve lives and bring communities together.
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 11th - Sojourners for Justice Press is organizing a Black Zine Fair (BZF). BZF is a celebration of all things Black and publishing in New York City! Black exhibitors and educators are invited to gather, trade or sell zines, and exchange knowledge surrounding zine-making, self & independent publishing, and do-it-yourself culture. Learn more at the BZF website.