Welcome to 2024 – let's defend libraries together this year!
Announcements, updates, and resources to help you strengthen and defend public libraries.
As a new year begins…
It’s January 2024 and the genocide in Gaza is heartwrenchingly ongoing. We remain in solidarity with Palestinians and people across the world who are demanding an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine. The appalling collective punishment imposed on civilians MUST END now. Enough!
This month, we are revisiting the 2018 documentary titled the Great Book Robbery: Chronicles of a Cultural Destruction which describes Israel’s systematic program of looting and confiscating books from Palestinian homes during the 1948 Nakba. Thousands of books were stolen and also destroyed.
During this current genocide, we are witnessing the systematic & intentional destruction of universities, schools, libraries and all other cultural institutions in Gaza. 70% of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed so far. Please review Librarians and Archivists for Palestine’s statement from October and their toolkit that they’ve created for more information.
Announcements from For The People
We’re looking forward to kicking off our first cohort of people who want to run for or seek appointment to their local library boards. Thank you so much to everyone who applied - please watch your inboxes in the next several days as we work to finalize the meeting dates for our cohort.
Thank you also to everyone who wrote in or made time to speak with us about the Creative Coordinator role; we have an overwhelming array of talent and will be setting up an organizing meeting for everyone in early January.
We are still accepting applications for our paid internship through January 5. Apply now!
Project: Public Library People’s Assemblies Coordinator
Timeline: February 5, 2024-June 30, 2024
Time commitment: 8-10 hours weekly (21 weeks). Paid position $25 an hour (up to $5250). This is a remote position but we need the intern to be US-based.
And last but certainly not least, we are excited to almost be done with Phase 1 of our ambitious volunteer-driven data project - read on for the latest results.
We hope that more of you will join us this year in defending and expanding your local public libraries by getting involved in organizing and governance. Please share this newsletter with your communities and join in the work!
Listen / Watch / Learn
Criminalization 101 for Information Workers
If you missed our October 26th Criminalization 101 for Information Workers teach-in session with Interrupting Criminalization and Project NIA, the event video and graphic notes are now available on the Building Your Abolitionist Toolbox website.
In this teach-in session, we covered the various intersections of libraries, library work, and criminalization, including surveillance and privacy issues, retribution against library workers, social work and social services, and more. Sarah Cuk and Mariame Kaba also created a short resource for information workers which was shared during the session. We hope that others will edit and remix it as desired.
Board Watcher Bingo
Need a New Year’s resolution? Here’s one for you: we invite everyone reading this newsletter to make a plan to attend at least 3 local library board meetings in 2024.
We’re so excited to have heard from Marisa who attended her first local library board meeting in 2023 and used our board watcher bingo game. We love to see it! Here are some reflections from Marisa:
“I was surprised that our board did not have any items on the agenda to discuss the recent re-cataloging of LGBTQ+ materials out of the children's and young adult sections...it all happened without the public's knowledge until some brave librarians let us know. The books are back in their original place now.
From the handbook, the most interesting thing I learned is that our library didn't seem to do a proper search for the library director, though she was hired in the midst of Covid so that could be part of the explanation.
I did speak at the board meeting about the censorship that we were told about and asked that they stop the moving of materials. After a lot of bad press, they did "put a pause" on it. They touched on nearly everything on the card.”
Updates from Library Land
Here’s a roundup of interesting reading and listening material that we think you’ll appreciate:
Gen Z and Millennials: How They Use Public Libraries and Identify Through Media Use by Berens and Noorda (2023). New research released by the American Library Association found that more than half of Gen Zers and Millennials surveyed in 2022 had visited a physical library location in the previous year. And of the Gen Zers and Millennials who said that they did not identify as readers, more than half still reported going to the library, suggesting that they may be visiting for other reasons, including events, classes, or simply to find community.
The Real Mission Behind Moms for Liberty (Jennifer Berkshire on On the Media)
New Yorkers love their libraries. So why are they always on the chopping block? (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist)
Library Video Conferencing Helps Loved Ones Book Visits in the Pen (Reuven Blau for The City)
Transparency and Disability Groups’ Recommendations for 2024 Open Meetings Law Revision
Book Bans, Grief, and Love: What Do These Have to Do With Social Movements? (Malkia Devich-Cyril as guest on It’s OK That You’re Not OK with Megan Devine)
Local News’ Library Moment (Simon Galperin for Nieman Lab)
Finding Palestine in the Library (Jamie Carlstone on Medium)
Archives Under Wartime Conditions: State of Affairs in Ukraine (Hannah Leun for Archival Outlook)
Public libraries reveal their most borrowed books of 2023 (Neda Ulaby for NPR)
Queer Louisianans Are Fighting Book Bans—And Winning (Katie Jane Fernelius for In These Times)
The Public Library Manifesto (David Morris for Yes Magazine)
Data Collection Update
For The People is compiling the first-ever nationwide database of public library board seats to support leftists in running for, or seeking appointment to, office. Back in early March we launched our Data Collection Project Volunteer Task Force. We only have 10 active Phase 01 batches still checked out. Those batches total up to just under 400 public library systems left to research in Phase 01. These batches all have a volunteer assigned currently, and we're really hoping to put this part of the project in the rear view mirror so that we can shift focus to Phase 02 in 2024.
You can still sign up for either phase at the link below, we have more need for Phase Two help than for Phase One help at the moment, but are always happy to have folx sign up for either: sign up to help here!
Monthly Data Collection Project Volunteer Scoreboard
Huge congratulations to our 1st place contributor, Sadie R., second place contributor Anonymous Volunteer Extraordinaire, and third place contributor Lauren. Winners will receive a prize package as described below.
We really appreciate all of the amazing volunteers who have helped out with this project so far. Sign up to help if you’d like to join the fun. The prizes are incredible, as you can see below:
1st place🥇: Two items from the For the People Bonfire Store (not to exceed $70 in total value) + A signed copy of Mariame Kaba's book Let This Radicalize You (or a $10 Bookshop gift certificate)
2nd place🥈: One item from the For the People Bonfire Store (not to exceed $30 in total value) + A signed copy of Mariame Kaba's book Let This Radicalize You (or a $10 Bookshop gift certificate)
3rd place🥉: A signed copy of Mariame Kaba's book Let This Radicalize You (or a $10 Bookshop gift certificate)
End-of-Year Project Volunteer Scoreboard
This is a tallying of the batch work completed by volunteers over the entire course of 2023. Our top three contributors will be receiving a beautiful, limited-edition, "Libraries are for the People" notebook made by Blackbird Letterpress.
Send Us Your Ideas...
What are your favorite quotes about public libraries? Please send them our way at forthepeoplelibraries@gmail.com. We’re working on a fun new project.