(originally published in The Chattanooga times Free Press)
Public libraries are huge community assets. They not only house books, but provide educational programs, arts classes, computer access, archives, and more. Even in my childhood in Bermuda in the 1960s, the library was growing into an island asset. No wonder my grandmother donated her Encyclopedia Britannica to it, ensuring the education of future generations. But now, the federal government proposes defunding libraries, including a potential $435,000 to our Chattanooga library.
Words defy me, especially having just attended a very special presentation at the downtown library. The program featured Ettie Zilber, whose family was from Lithuania and whose parents were Holocaust Survivors. Ettie educated us about the collaboration between the Soviets and the Nazis, creating a Holocaust “by bullets” since the gas chambers weren’t available in Lithuania. She talked about how a Jesuit priest documented what happened as an eye witness. The photos from that period are devastating. Destruction was entirely legal at the time with anti-Jewish laws enacted frequently as were public auctions of looted Jewish valuables. When the it was evident that the Allies would persevere, evidence of the destruction was destroyed. Killing army units murdered 10,000 victims in one day and hid the evidence by burning the dead bodies.
We were fortunate to hear from Ettie who has spoken in Germany and Lithuania, but also in schools worldwide and shared her book, A Holocaust Memoir of Love & Resilience: Mama’s Survival from Lithuania to America. The audience greatly appreciated the library and other sponsors including the Tennessee Holocaust Commission that supported this program.
Keep in mind that libraries are major players in counteracting efforts to deny, distort and trivialize history, including the new song by Ye (Kanye West): Heil Hitler. But that may actually be an essential element in the decision to defund libraries. After all, efforts to ban books, including the Holocaust-based Diary of Ann Frank, have been ongoing for years. The idea that the feds will remove funds and make it difficult for libraries to have such events is heartbreaking, but unfortunately, predictable.
There was a certain predictability to the next step in censorship: Trump firing the Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden. Appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by Congress for a 10 year term, Hayden was the first woman and Black to hold the position. She was fired by email after testifying to Congress about her efforts to modernize the library’s systems, processes and staff. The Library of Congress isn’t just about books. It has vast digital resources and research centers and provide in-person presentations, classes, symposia, and research orientations. Its vast resources are often loaned out to local libraries so that their collections can be used locally and globally and are reachable to rural areas where libraries are just beginning to be community assets.
Words defy me. Fortunately, they don’t defy New York Rep. Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, which oversees the Library of Congress. “The Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, has spent her entire career serving people — from helping kids learn to read to protecting some of nation’s most precious treasures. She is an American hero.” Morelle and other Democrats are calling for congressional reinstatement.
But Democrats are the congressional minority, so it’s doubtful that the firing of Dr. Hayden is reversible. Further, if the plan is to remove the Library of Congress altogether, don’t be surprised. Its website has much information about diverse communities and anti-DEIs (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) are already applauding this firing. It’s challenging, but we must speak up for her, our libraries, and our democracy. Let’s be heard and seen online, loudly and often.
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