"To reduce reading confusion, I will refer to the Cooperative Information Network (CIN) in this article as the "co-op."
Did you know the Cooperative Information Network (co-op) Board recently began discussing the possibility of expelling the Community Library Network (CLN) from the consortium?
Did you know this co-op/consortium has been around since April 1984?
Did you know the co-op is comprised of over 25 participating libraries, seven being CLN libraries?
Did you know the CLN currently holds approximately 49% of the books in the entire consortium?
Did you know the CLN financially contributes 46% of the co-op's budget?
Did you know you may order material from any of the participating libraries and have the material delivered directly to your local, home library?
Did you know sharing resources between the participating libraries benefits each participating library?
Did you know a new Idaho law went into effect July 1, 2024, requiring public libraries to take reasonable steps to restrict access by minors to material harmful to minors?
Did you know the Idaho law details exactly what is defined as "harmful to minors?"
Did you know the new law requires libraries to have procedures in place for residents to submit requests for harmful material to be relocated, and limit a minor's access?
Did you know each library is unquestionably permitted to proactively review their curated collection, without waiting for patron relocation requests?
Did you know many Idaho libraries make it cumbersome for residents to successfully have material relocated, but the CLN does not?
Did you know some of the co-op's libraries may not be complying with the Idaho law, nor are the participating Washington co-op libraries obliged to follow Idaho law?
Did you know the CLN Board created a Mature Content Collection, designed to contain all material harmful to minors, making this collection inaccessible to minors but remaining available to adults?
Did you know the CLN is proactively reviewing the entire collection for minors, and is relocating all material harmful to minors to the Mature Content Collection?
Did you know the CLN will be reviewing its entire General Collection to ensure any material harmful to minors is relocated to its new Mature Content Collection, but will remain available to adults?
Did you know the material in the CLN's entire collection will continue to be accessible to all adult co-op patrons?
Did you know the entire CLN collection will continue to be available to all non-CLN minors within the co-op, with the only exception being the extremely limited Mature Content Collection?
Did you know members of the co-op's Board were highly vexed that the CLN Board dared to take the necessary action to protect minors, in order to be in compliance with Idaho law?
Did you know the aggrieved co-op Board insists the Mature Content Collection remain available to minors?
Did you know that ensuring minors retain access to unlawful material is the co-op's meritless argument to expel the CLN from the co-op?
Did you know minors may be exposed to sexually explicit material via means other than the library, however, libraries are governed by laws requiring compliance, and are taxpayer funded?
Did you know courts have held that minors do not enjoy all of the same constitutional rights as adults?
Did you know The Supreme Court of the United States has held there is a compelling state interest to protect minors from harmful materials?
Did you know although children have constitutional rights, they do not have them to the same degree that adults do?
Did you know courts tend to be supportive of any regulation, law or policy that seeks to balance protecting children, along with their constitutional rights?
Did you know threatening expulsion of the CLN from the co-op is a bullying tactic that the co-op's Board and others may use to publicly vilify the CLN Board, which is taking reasonable steps to comply with Idaho law?
Did you know the CLN Board will not be intimidated by the co-op's Board, and the public will not be gaslighted by the co-op or others?
Did you know if the CLN is voted out, it will be the co-op's Board who will be required to answer to the 101,691 co-op's patrons who were negatively impacted by their irresponsible actions?
And now you know … the truth!"
By Tom Hanley - Vice Chairman of the Community Library Network
