A Montana Insider's Guide to Reforming your Library

Montana pulled out of the American Library Association (ALA). A source gives their tips for how those in other states change their system from the inside.

I cannot understate the power of the American Library Association (ALA). The ALA serves as the accrediting body for library school programs and in many states (like North Carolina) you are not considered a librarian unless your MLIS is ALA accredited. A great deal of what is wrong with libraries can be traced back to the ALA.

Which is what makes what happened in Montana so potentially monumental. The Montana State Library Commission voted Tuesday to cut all ties with the American Library Association (ALA), saying they cannot associate with a group led by a self-described “Marxist.”

Five commissioners voted in favor of withdrawing from the ALA, while one commissioner, Brian Rossmann, voted “no” and another, Peggy Taylor, abstained.

The Daily Wire reported on the decision,

One Montana librarian who said he has been involved in the library system for nearly 25 years urged the commission to leave the ALA, according to documents from the commission.

“I have watched my profession go from honorable to shameful,” the librarian wrote. “Libraries all over the country and within Montana have shifted from serving communities to serving power. I am in full awareness that the reason for this shift aligns with the new ALA president’s expertise in critical pedagogy,” which he called “hatred shielded within compassion.”

He specifically mentioned Drag Queen Story Hour as an example of the ALA’s toxic influence on local libraries.

The proposal to withdraw from the ALA was put forward at last month’s meeting by Commissioner Tom Burnett, who was appointed by Governor Greg Gianforte, a Republican. Burnett also drafted the language of the letter to the ALA.

I put out a call on Twitter to talk to anyone familiar with what happened in Montana to get an insider perspective. I was lucky enough to be put in touch with a librarian there who worked behind the scenes to make the ALA withdrawal a reality. They shared with me how the Montana withdrawal came about and their role in it, “Understanding dialectics is the easiest way to predict the movements of the enemy. They literally follow a script. James Lindsay is likely the most knowledgeable person on how they maneuver and I was able to combine his teachings with my own research. In general, the best way to combat them is to anticipate their moves. They can’t be outworked. But they can be mislead, misinformed and outmaneuvered. I didn’t hesitate when I saw opportunity. Not everything was successful. It boils down to being able to clearly express the problem with sourced information rather than simply stating ‘This is wrong!’”

This individual was kind enough to share with us some action items that can help you keep your libraries accountable and be good stewards of your tax dollars.

Here are some of their suggestions:

• Attend board meetings

• Join boards

• Contact people amenable to helping. Call directly, email, and post publicly.

• Research the players involved. Who are the regional managers and who in the local government oversees the library system?

• Recognize Marxist activities within libraries on racial and gender grounds.  

• Understand modern Marxism and be able to cite primary sources such as Kendi, Friere, Drag Pedagogy paper, etc. Often people perceive something is wrong but don’t know the source material. James Lindsay’s New Discourses is the best place to get up to date. 

• Audit the collection. Librarians censor via Collection Development policies. Usually via discretion. Example:  my library doesn’t own a copy of Jordan Peterson’s “Beyond Order” yet we have many gender nonsense books

• Request appropriate material to be purchased. 

• Be relentless. Librarians are. 

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