Here’s an editorial from CounterPunch from author Dave Lindorff who tried to arrange for a book signing and discussion at his local library. He received an answer from a librarian who initially declined his offer, saying “we are concerned that a discussion of topics that people feel so passionately about could quickly become inflammatory.” The librarian also said that the library needed to remain “neutral.” But she did ask for references or contacts for previous libraries where he might have done similar programs, leaving the door open for a program. Lindorff comments
Still, if a librarian is afraid of controversy in a community like mine, one shudders to imagine how her counterparts are handling controversy in really conservative communities in the South or the Midwest.
The title of Lindorff’s book? This Can’t Be Happening: Resisting the Disintegration of American Democracy.
Library is not speaker!
One thing the library said in their reply was, “However, as a library, we must retain our neutral position on all subjects, and we are concerned that a discussion of topics that people feel so passionately about could quickly become inflammatory.”
Opening up a room and letting someone speak does not mean that the library is taking a position. The library is not the speaker.