joncamfieldMy Texas hometown privatized the public library and is having the local police review books, so, yeah. Yeah.
Unplanned Librarian@joncamfield I’m so sorry. How did they privatize it? Is it fee based?
Losfromcp@deeann @joncamfield Probably the company referenced in this article. Library Systems & Services
https://inthepublicinterest.org/when-public-libraries-become-private-who-will-support-them
Tony FlemingI'd like to know if this is the case. Speculation can be dangerous on such issues. Do we know if this is one of them?
@tonyfleming @deeann @joncamfield someone else in the thread shared the link below, but didn't know if it (Huntsville, TX) was definitely OP's town.
https://bookriot.com/huntsville-public-library-privatization/
GeorgeCarlinWasRight@losfromcp @tonyfleming @deeann @joncamfield
Texas, working it's ass off to keep up with Florida as the most redneck bigoted place in the country.
Texas, working it's ass off to keep up with Florida as the most redneck bigoted place in the country.
Alexander Karn@losfromcp @tonyfleming @deeann @joncamfield Important to note that the vote to privatize came in the wake of the library’s decision to arrange an LGBTQ Pride display. IOW, it was punitive anti-LGBTQ politics.
@losfromcp @deeann @joncamfield
Thanks. From what I have read, LS&S just does what the town council wants. I don't agree with the privatization of any public institution, but this seems like the council will get to dictate library policy indirectly, telling LS&S what policies it wants, but then can turn around and blame LS&S for them.
I'd like to understand this issue more.
Peat Bog@losfromcp @deeann @joncamfield
Jesus, private equity omnomnom everywhere I look.
Feels like a scarier remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
John Carlsen@peatbog @losfromcp @deeann @joncamfield
"Invasion of the Book Snatchers"
@johnlogic @losfromcp @deeann @joncamfield
Yep. And the libraries. And the hospitals. And probably the public schools once the GOP enshittifies most of them. The list is long.
Yep. And the libraries. And the hospitals. And probably the public schools once the GOP enshittifies most of them. The list is long.
@peatbog @losfromcp @deeann @joncamfield
I think I've just found my candidate for new word or term of the year:
GOP enshittification
@peatbog @johnlogic @deeann @joncamfield
1) speakly loudly about how something is bad and doesn’t work
2) wreck those institutions and organizations through policies and lawsuits
3) now it's worse and speak loudly about more changes needed
4) take control and then immediately give it to your handlers
5) Monetize everything, reduce services, get rid of staff. All "gains" go in 1 direction
@losfromcp @johnlogic @deeann @joncamfield
6) For-profit essential services are monopolies by definition so enjoy jacking fees until everyone is miserable but not yet torches-and-pitchforks.
6) For-profit essential services are monopolies by definition so enjoy jacking fees until everyone is miserable but not yet torches-and-pitchforks.
@peatbog @johnlogic @deeann @joncamfield D'oh...how could I forget that part of the privatization racket?!?
Nance miller@peatbog @johnlogic @losfromcp @deeann @joncamfield vouchers, “school choice. Not probably it is happening.
Gayle J. Greenlea 🇺🇦🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
llewelly@losfromcp @deeann @joncamfield
this is an image that really needs alt-text, thank you.
@llewelly Apologies. Is there a way to add alt text after the fact? Thanks
@losfromcp
Unfortunately, it's not easy; you need to edit the post, delete the image, re-upload the same image, and then add the alt-text. Thank you .
Unfortunately, it's not easy; you need to edit the post, delete the image, re-upload the same image, and then add the alt-text. Thank you .
@losfromcp
here's the fedi.tips answer: https://fedi.tips/mastodon-and-fediverse-accessibility-tips/#HowDoIAddATextDescription
here's the fedi.tips answer: https://fedi.tips/mastodon-and-fediverse-accessibility-tips/#HowDoIAddATextDescription
Cat Power
v̾i̾t̾r̾i̾o̾l̾i̾x̾@joncamfield ahead of the curve apparently
mc.fly@joncamfield isn't that then censorship?
Peter Brown@mcfly @joncamfield sounds like it to me. I thought the customer was always right. 🤷🏼♂️
@peterbrown Well, a private company is told by the police (= government) on which books to make availible sounds like censorship to me.
@mcfly as I said, sounds like it to me.
Quanah Schlesselman@joncamfield think they’ve read a book since high school?
Patricklee@quanahjoan @joncamfield think they read a book in high school?
General Wise Ass 
@joncamfield
I didn't know TX cops could read 🙂
I didn't know TX cops could read 🙂
Lt.Cpl Хуёвый Пчеловод@GeneralWiseAss @joncamfield They can't - they just check whether there's a cross on the front cover
British Tech GuruAre you suggesting that whenever they want to change a light bulb, one has to stand on a table while the other four turn the table?
Dynomoose
DJDarren@Dynomoose @joncamfield Yes, there'll be more of him.
RRBIf they actually start reading His book, it will definitely be banned as well.
@rrb @joncamfield dash the babies against those rocks.
@Dynomoose @joncamfield How much incest can you stand?
R.A. Porter (he/him)@joncamfield I'm having trouble believing they found any cops who could read.
FreebirdFrolicOn account of them being literary arbiters and editorially perspicacious. I get it.
JaneGray@joncamfield Um, this is terrifying.
Ariel Kroon@joncamfield Holy shit, this is beyond the pale.
We are talking about TX, you know.
Melody the Great@joncamfield unfathomable. What are police actually looking for in the books?
@Melodyvacc @joncamfield Anything “woke”. That means anything empathetic, compassionate or justice and equality-oriented. No LGBTQIA, no women in power, no people of color, no Black History, no civil rights, no science.
@GJGreenlea @joncamfield Do you know if there is a policy on what they are looking for?
@Melodyvacc @joncamfield I’m not sure what the official policy is, but this article might give you an idea of what they’re looking for: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/19/texas-book-bans/
@GJGreenlea @joncamfield My guess is that this is the town Jon is talking about and I don't see that police are doing the censoring. That was specifically what I wanted to know more about. I'm familiar with the general trends in censoring, it was the the police addition that was new but I cannot verify it.
@Melodyvacc @GJGreenlea the only source I have on that is a video from an fb group organizing against the privatization; the group is public, but focused on local voter signatures for a recall vote: https://www.alpha.facebook.com/groups/htxpublicfirst/
@Melodyvacc @joncamfield Last May, police conducted a “criminal investigation” in Grandbury ISD because a review committee returned some banned books to library shelves. 😳 https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/hood-county-constables-launch-criminal-investigation-after-complaints-of-porn-in-granbury-isd-libraries-14052358 Apparently police have been called in to investigate complaints about library books in other school districts. This is not same as reviewing books. It’s possibly worse, as it implies the criminalization of displaying banned books. Teachers are being threatened with felonies.
@Melodyvacc @joncamfield Here’s a list of books banned from school libraries in San Antonio: https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/94fee7ff93eff9609f141433e41f8ae1/krausebooklist.pdf #BannedBooks
@Melodyvacc @joncamfield Here’s more: Books probed by a Texas lawmaker by women, people of color, LGBTQ writers. They’re asking: ‘Really?’ https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/10/28/books-probed-by-a-texas-lawmaker-by-women-people-of-color-lgbtq-writers-theyre-asking-really/ #BookBans
Donna Dechen Birdwell@joncamfield When Florida goes low, Texas goes lower. Dystopia is upon us. 🤬
Alice Marshall@joncamfield everyone in Texas and Florida needs to know about Librivox. Not THE answer, but an answer https://librivox.org
supriya
Meg@joncamfield Scary!
Gill King@joncamfield really?!😮
kerplunk@joncamfield Insanity. Glad to hear the police don't have anything serious to work on instead, though 🙄
Suz Korbel@joncamfield It hurts so much to live in Texas and witness this viciousness.
Chirag "Jay" Patel@joncamfield one of the reasons why school kids from every other developed country out perform American kids every year. Add China and India to that list aoon.
@joncamfield Brooklyn Public Library just offered every teenager in the USA free access to it’s corpus. If it wants to keep the world’s knowledge out of American’s hands in the 21sr century, Texas is going to have to lock it’s ISPs up like China, Fun Korea, and Iran do. Because misery loves company.