Edit: The original story said “Palette Cleanser” in both the story, and the headline. I am never, ever going to live this down. Chain me up, throw me into the pit.
Hi,
With the world burning — literally and figuratively — I felt like Webworm needed a little palate cleanser at the start of the week. Like looking at Jackie and Shadow keeping their babies warm and fed*, wishing that you too were tucked under the warm belly of a bald eagle during a snowstorm.
And so I reached out to Webworm reader Kath, who I’d been in touch with after writing about how Destiny church goons had barged their way into a library.
I knew Kath worked in a library — I fucking love libraries — and so I asked her to write something about how marvelous libraries are.
This comes as seven of pastor Brian Tamaki’s people have now been arrested and charged with assault after punching their way into the Te Atatu Peninsula library. Of course Tamaki has done what any admirable leader would do and distanced himself from the whole thing. A true hero to his flock.
Kath’s essay is below, or if you want to hear me reading it — here you go:
David.
*I am aware one of the chicks didn’t make it through a particularly stormy night, but that took away from the point I was trying to make!
If In Doubt - Look to Your Library
In a world of chaos and uncertainty, turn to your local library.
by Kath
It’s a tough time for librarians at the moment. Here in Aotearoa we’ve just recently seen an Auckland library hosting a science performance (about the weather of all things) by a drag king stormed by black shirted thugs instructed by their leader to “shut it down”.
The United States is currently facing the highest rate of attempted book bans it has ever faced, even to the attempt to criminalise librarians who loan these books. Libraries around the world are fielding an increasing number of threats, book challenges and ugly behaviour.
So it’s understandable librarians are feeling it right now.
For context, I have had an almost 30 year career in public libraries in Australia and New Zealand, and a lifetime lurking in them like the massive library nerd that I am. And yes, I am that librarian from that photo that you have seen on social media.
Libraries have always been a sanctuary for me. From when I was a little girl growing up in a violent household, as a teen who was mercilessly bullied at high school, and as a young adult when I was feeling lost. It was inevitable that I would end up working in libraries and to become a career librarian.
In the last five years, librarians have been facing challenges that were simply not an issue for the first 15 to 20 years of my career. Librarians have always faced challenges, and I have endless stories I could dine out on.
But the hostility and aggression towards librarians for being welcoming towards diverse people and their stories is a relatively new thing. We’re usually the first places you will see accommodations made and diversity celebrated and librarians are always working to make our spaces more inclusive and accommodating.
My personal rule is that every single library customer I see receives the same greeting — a smile and a friendly “Kia ora!” It doesn’t matter if they’re coming in to have a gripe at me, are someone living rough, or someone visibly showing politics that I do not agree with, they still get the same smile and greeting as every other customer, until they behave in a way that is inappropriate for the library.
The thing is, public libraries belong to you. All of you. Not just those currently in political power, or those with money and influence, or those with the loudest voices. They are your third place — the public and social space that is available for you to be in without spending any money to do so.
Providing that they uphold appropriate behaviour, everybody is welcome and valued in the library. You don’t even have to be a member of the library, you’re welcome to come in and enjoy the space and facilities, whoever you are. We’d love you to become a member of the library, but membership is in no way exclusive when it comes to public libraries — anyone can do so!
More to the point, public libraries have always welcomed and sheltered the vulnerable. Thirty years ago the library I was working for ran a programme called Living Libraries, where customers could “borrow” a person from a diverse background to have a 15 minute chat in the library with. Our “borrowable” people included disabled people, people of all kinds of race and religion, people with unusual careers, and LGBTQIA+ people for example.
This was a way to open up community and conversation to many people who’d never met someone who was different to them. Lifelong friendships were created by that programme, but the sad thing is that if we held the same programme in a public library now, there would likely be threats and protests.
Drag performances have been held in public libraries for at least 20 years now, if not more. Drag queens and kings create family friendly shows full of fabulous costumes, songs, dances, stories and jokes to attract people to the library, connect them with diverse people while entertaining and educating them.
These drag performers would never dream of using the same show they give in a nightclub or other adult event in the library. They are talented, warm, funny and most of all safe performers to host in libraries for all ages. But in the past 5 years we are seeing them targeted more than ever with hostility, aggression and threats.
It’s heartbreaking to see this change and how attitudes have gone backwards in my time as a public librarian. One thing that won’t change however, is that libraries will always be welcoming, inclusive, diverse spaces that belong to you.
If you haven’t been recently, pop in to your local library. Say hello (or Kia ora) to your local librarian, become a member, borrow something.
We’ll be happy to see you.
-Kath.
David here again.
This week is maybe a good time to plan a trip to your local, or to get a free membership if you haven’t got one already. It’s hard to argue with free stuff. And with librarians like Kath.
Finally, thanks for all your feedback to the Focus on the Family Webworm. All the stories and insights you mentioned (180 and counting) are worth reading — including from Shane Meyer-Holt who I’d interviewed for background:
“For a ton of reasons you get into, this stuff is incredibly dangerous and paves the way to authoritarianism, but I also want to note how hard that would have been to see for many of our parents.
It’s easy to forget that part of how this became so pervasive was that it was broadcast as the “default option” for Christian parents in a saturated media landscape. This gave it a sense of legitimacy and normality in the church landscape, and tapped into a huge sense of trust in “wise pastoral leadership” by churchgoers who were largely used to following directives on how to do things the right way.
What we now see as completely bonkers and downright harmful was unapologetically printed on cutesy bookmarks and kids books in Christian bookstores (twee-washing?), which made it seem obvious, sensible, wise and firm but kind.
(Obviously, this is all helped by the fact that many/most forms of Christian tradition have an authoritarian backdrop with a vindictive and coercive God figure that will not be questioned.)
Also, bit of a tangent, but I’ve written here about the way religious fundamentalism and capitalism use the same “if you do it right life will work out, if your life sucks you’re the only one to blame” narrative to create a system where we’re promised a perfect life, delivered almost zero chance of getting it, but shamed into feeling like it's our fault and preventing us from questioning the system.”
Have a good day, and as usual — see you in the comments.
David.
Share this post