Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL) chose as their Board member of the Year a Board President who worked to freeze the speech of an entire city.
The Pueblo library district Board of Trustees passed an admonition that no one can criticize anybody connected to the library in public forum at Board meetings. In fact, one citizen was calling for the resignation of this Board President when the Board's attorney stopped him from speaking. Everybody knows this is a violation including the city attorney, but the admonition continues.
Private citizens have been punished for exercising their First Amendments rights to the point where the library director threatened one of them with police arrest if she didn't give up her constitutional rights.
This library already lost a lawsuit on Open Meetings that they are appealing and are facing another lawsuit based on freedom of speech.
Instead of researching their choice, CAL chose to believe the nomination papers that one person submitted. Even when they were told of the Board President's decisions that completely undermine the very reason why libraries exist in the first place - freedom of expression and freedom of information - CAL still chose to uphold their decision. In other words, a library association chose politics over their own principles.
Cuban librarians are in jail yet CAL couldn't admit a mistake made out of ignorance. What's especially disgusting is that CAL builds itself up as the defender of intellectual freedom. What a joke! They threw intellectual freedom in the gutter quicker than a blink of the eye for political expediency.
No Colorado representative or senator should give CAL the time of day. Not one penny of tax money should go to these hypocrites.
Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL) chose as their Board member of the Year a Board President who worked to freeze the speech of an entire city.
The Pueblo library district Board of Trustees passed an admonition that no one can criticize anybody connected to the library in public forum at Board meetings. In fact, one citizen was calling for the resignation of this Board President when the Board's attorney stopped him from speaking. Everybody knows this is a violation including the city attorney, but the admonition continues.
Private citizens have been punished for exercising their First Amendments rights to the point where the library director threatened one of them with police arrest if she didn't give up her constitutional rights.
This library already lost a lawsuit on Open Meetings that they are appealing and are facing another lawsuit based on freedom of speech.
Instead of researching their choice, CAL chose to believe the nomination papers that one person submitted. Even when they were told of the Board President's decisions that completely undermine the very reason why libraries exist in the first place - freedom of expression and freedom of information - CAL still chose to uphold their decision. In other words, a library association chose politics over their own principles.
Cuban librarians are in jail yet CAL couldn't admit a mistake made out of ignorance. What's especially disgusting is that CAL builds itself up as the defender of intellectual freedom. What a joke! They threw intellectual freedom in the gutter quicker than a blink of the eye for political expediency.
No Colorado representative or senator should give CAL the time of day. Not one penny of tax money should go to these hypocrites.