50 signatures reached
To: Mississippi Valley Library District Board of Trustees and all City, County, and State Officials
Support the Mississippi Valley Library District
Sign the petition to show your support for the Mississippi Valley Library District.
What this petition represents:
- We support the Mississippi Valley Library District and its mission to provide materials and programs that serve the needs and interests of all members in the community.
- We trust the library professionals to preserve and protect intellectual freedom and diversity of expression in accordance with the library’s policies for collection development and circulation.
- We believe the library is responsible for making available a wide range of information and programming that reflect its entire community, while library users are responsible for what they and their families choose to use.
- We oppose any legislation that would ban books; censor library materials, programs, or services; infringe on the privacy of library users; or make library board members, administration, staff, or users criminally liable for information access or use.
- We wholeheartedly advocate for the complete and sustained funding of our library, recognizing its vital role as a cornerstone of community education, cultural enrichment, and public service.
Why is this important?
The Mississippi Valley Library District faces a growing number of challenges to its collection and services from a very vocal, small group of individuals who seek to impose their own religious or moral beliefs on others in the community.
These newest board members have:
- Promoted censorship of materials (library board president removed materials from a library display)
- Recently voted to limit public comment in an effort to silence the concerned residents
- Past board meeting videos and FOIA's have revealed anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-inclusion rhetoric and discrimination against a library staff member by a new board member
Citizens should remain vigilant against any form of government overreach that manipulates public libraries for political agendas. Libraries serve as beacons of free thought and knowledge, and their integrity must be protected from partisan influences that threaten to undermine their role as unbiased resources for the community.