A recent article on the New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) website regarding Governor Sununu’s withdrawal of his state librarian nominee confirms that the previous state librarian withdrew the New Hampshire State Library (NHSL) from the American Library Association this year. While the reason given for this withdrawal was that “the yearly dues were not worth what the association provided,” there is more to this story.
Last February, as a New Hampshire State Representative and a librarian opposed to the ALA’s agenda, I wrote the letter below to Sarah Stewart, the Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which oversees the NHSL. This letter was co-signed by 100 other state representatives who shared my opposition. Along with fellow Representative Mike Drago (Raymond, NH), I met with Commissioner Stewart and State Librarian Michael York at the State House. We explained the reasons for withdrawing from the ALA as detailed in the letter that I presented to Commisioner Stewart at the end of our meeting. It appears that our demands were heeded and that New Hampshire has joined the growing list of states that have defunded the ALA!
Here is the text of my letter:
29 February 2024
Dear Commissioner Stewart, Recently, a bill that sought to prohibit egregiously obscene materials from being included in public school library collections (HB1419) failed on the House floor. Rather than just trying to pass legislation to remove such books, however, perhaps we should be asking how these books get on school library shelves in the first place. For example, how did such a notoriously inappropriate book as Gender Queer ever get into numerous school libraries in New Hampshire to begin with? Part of the reason is likely the glowing review that appeared in the American Library Association’s publication Booklist, in which the reviewer gushed, “Highly recommended reading for those on their own journey of exploration or those supporting the explorers in their own lives.” In addition to the ALA’s stellar review of Gender Queer, this infamous graphic novel also won the 2020 ALA Stonewall Award, which annually recognizes books on LGBTQ+ themes, as well as one of its Alex Awards which are given to adult titles that “have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.” The ALA gives out numerous other awards each year that disproportionately honor and publicize books on racial and sexual themes, while its review source Booklist similarly celebrates such books. Meanwhile, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the Director of ALA’s “Office for Intellectual Freedom,” who has worked for the ALA for almost a quarter century, recently admitted to carrying out a “sustained messaging” program to “reframe” and “promote” inappropriate books especially on sexual themes as “diverse materials …that are about inclusion and fairness.”
The American Library Association is clearly a political organization far more than a professional one. Its political agenda is further reflected in the “professional” literature it publishes for librarians and library staff. In a recent ALA Publishing catalog, the vast majority of the books included were on topics such as EDISJ (“equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice”), “cultural humility,” and so-called “book banning.” The ALA has clearly revealed its liberal agenda that seeks to undermine parental authority and destroy the family. To quote its own website, it “opposes all attempts to restrict access to library services, materials, and facilities based on the age of library users.” It promotes and defends “drag queen story hours” by providing resources on its website for librarians to use when patrons object to these events.
The American Library Association, as those who follow the news regarding this organization already know, currently has a self-proclaimed Marxist, Emily Drabinski, as a president this year. While she will be replaced next year by a new elected leader, this will not stop the ALA from promoting its insidious agenda. Because Drabinski is merely a symptom of the ALA agenda rather than its cause, the next president will likely espouse similar views. The ALA also has around three hundred permanent employees, many of whom support the agenda that has been promulgated by their employer for years, most notably the aforementioned lawyer, Deborah Caldwell-Stone. The ALA’s connections with the infamous George Soros also reveal its long-standing political agenda. In 1997, Soros was awarded the ALA’s James Madison Award, which honors individuals “who have championed, protected and promoted public access to government information,” and in 2008, his organization, Open Society, gave the ALA a $350,000 “seed grant.” The ALA’s egregious agenda obviously started long before Emily Drabinski became president and will continue after her departure; she merely exposed it for all to see, especially last September when she asserted at the Socialism 2023 conference that public schools and libraries need to become “sites of socialist organizing”!
The American Library Association, like many organizations, offers discounts on products and provides a variety of services to its members. Some supporters might argue that these so called “benefits” justify the small amount that the New Hampshire State Library pays in dues each year for membership. In light of the organization’s true agenda, however, this argument falls flat because membership is ultimately injurious rather than beneficial. If the state library discontinues its membership with the ALA, as we believe it should, it may technically only save a few thousand dollars, but this action will send a clear message to library trustees and school boards throughout the state that they don’t need to support the ALA and that, in fact, they should not. If New Hampshire cuts its ties with the ALA, as Montana, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina, and Florida have already done, this will send an even stronger message to the entire country that this pernicious organization needs to be defunded.
The American Library Association, a political organization that clearly promotes principles that are toxic to our republic, is truly an enemy of our state, and we believe that any support of this organization with taxpayer dollars must stop immediately. Following the withdrawal of Texas last August from the ALA, State Representative Brian Harrison wrote in a letter to all Republican governors, “By sending tax dollars to the ALA, you are forcing your constituents’ money to be weaponized against them, their values, and their children.” To prevent our constituents’ tax dollars from being used to attack our state, we, the undersigned representatives of the General Court demand that you, as Commissioner of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which oversees the New Hampshire State Library, order the NHSL to cut all financial ties with the American Library Association.
Respectfully, Rep. Arlene Quaratiello and 100 fellow members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives (some of whom agreed to sign this letter as long as their names were not made public which is why I have not included the names of the signers here).
