contact

how to contact us

dan kleinman (our chatham, nj location): SafeLibraries@gmail.com ; safelibraries.org, 641 shunpike rd #123, chatham, nj 07928

mark decker (our oak lawn, il location) has had a fatal accident. i am at a loss for words. i will say more when the time is right.

certification in internet safety training and library law

in june 2007, dan earned a " certificate of completion " in " presenting internet safety programs to teenagers " by the morris county fire fighters and police training academy . his speech and guidance for parents can be found at lmirl . curious what lmirl means? if you don't know, your children may be in danger.

in may 2007, dan earned " cle credit " in " lawyers for libraries " by the ala. that's what i could have said had the ala's "office for intellectual freedom" not repeatedly raised new hurdles to keep me out of that very class despite pennsylvania supreme court rules. read this hypocritical disgrace in the ala's own words at unequal access .

featured in #1 phd library science school

safelibraries is now in the #1 ph.d. library and info science school in the usa (let alone being featured in numerous over library schools)!!!! at the unc school of information and library science, univ of nc at chapel hill, ph.d. program, ranked #1 in the nation by u.s. news & world report, inls843 seminar in public libraries; 02 april 2007 - collecting controversial materials references and links to a page on safelibraries.org, specifically, http://www.safelibraries.org/banthebunnies.htm !!! [ backup link .]

media by and about us

" hen hud: court order may be required ," by barbara livingston nackman , the journal news , 31 october 2009.
public libraries and police are both funded by and created to serve the public, said dan kleinman of safelibraries.org.

"in this case all they need to [do] is give the police permission to look at the computer they already have in their possession," kleinman said. "this isn't invading anyone's privacy. they are all on the same team. libraries are formed by charter to serve a particular purpose. child pornography is not usually one of these purposes."
" librarians' code does not allow censorship ," by luther turmelle , new haven register , 22 october 2009.
dan kleinman, a new jersey resident who operates a blog and web site that focuses on national library association policies that he says put questionable material in the hands of young people , said cheshire residents seeking to ban the book would be better served working toward changing the library's policies, which harten said don't permit the library board or any of the town's elected leaders to overrule her decision.

"these people don't have to be in the situation they're in," kleinman said. "maybe the policy should be changed. even the ala's guidelines don't recommend giving a library director that much power."
" us libraries hit back over challenges to kids books ," by sara hussein , agence france-presse [afp] , 6 september 2009, emphasis mine.
....

dan kleinman, who runs the website safelibraries.org, says his concerns are with the sort of sexual content found in "gossip girls."

"it is wrong to say that children should not have books because the earth is not older than 6000 years. it is wrong to say children should not have books because there's witchcraft in them. this is silly," he told afp, referring to some of the arguments put forward by religious fundamentalists.

but, he says, "some books have explicit, very detailed sexual conduct that is not of a teaching nature... it's just inappropriate for children."

kleinman, whose website is a clearing house for information about challenging books , insists that he does not want to see books banned, but says there is a legitimate legal basis for restricting children's access to sexually explicit material in libraries.

"all i'm seeking is application of existing law," he said, drawing a parallel between explicit websites or films and literature.

kleinman accuses the ala of hyperbole in celebrating banned books week. "the whole purpose of banned books week is to provide this kind of misinformation," he said. "the ala misleads people into thinking that if you keep an inappropriate book from a child that is considered censorship. it is not."

....
see also, " i? 1/2 .-u. : deux papas pingouins gays di? 1/2 chai? 1/2 nent les passions ," and " o carte pentru copii despre doi pinguini homosexuali, sti? 1/2 rneste controverse i? 1/2 n sua ," etc.
" censorship and ala program in chicago ," by michael golrick , thoughts from a library administrator , 28 july 2009. former ala executive board member michael golrick blames bureaucratic nonsense for why the ala may censor and blames me and anti-terror experts for not understanding the ala.
" wisconsin library challenge heats up ," by debra lau whelan , school library journal , 7 may 2009.
" dan 'i don't play gotcha' kleinman ," by unknown , sex drugs and intellectual freedom , 30 april 2009.
" got my rant on: follow-up ," by lori hahn , hahn at home , 6 march 2009.
" area teens sneak into university library and view porn ," by safelibraries , lisnews , 4 march 2009.
" thank you ," by laura kostial , know your library , 27 february 2009.
" privacy, shmivacy ," by annoyed librarian , library journal , 9 february 2009.
" obama wants your library records ," by annoyed librarian , library journal , 21 january 2009.
" library filters make for attack ads in arizona race ," by david burt , filtering facts , 29 october 2009.
" safe libraries and mcgruff in albuquerque, nm - a model for the nation ," by blake , lisnews , 24 october 2009.
"' fear tactics' on palin ," by dan kleinman , library journal , feedback, 15 october 2008, v133 i17 p12(1).
" librarians: throw the book at 'em ," by don corrigan, editor-in-chief , south county times , 26 september 2008. this article was highly critical of me. online comments are possible, but the editor did not allow the following comment to appear online--i wonder why:
well done, don corrigan. i admit you have made me look pretty silly. you did this by selectively pulling quotes from me and from the ala to support your view. the editorial is entertainingly and cleverly written.

be that as it may, you are fair enough to even raise the issue in the first place. for that, i thank you. the american library association has indeed advised media deception, specifically in the st. louis county library, and i ask people to read the st. louis metrovoice article i wrote. also, see my blog where i discuss it further:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/stlouislibrary

by the way, it's the st. louis metrovoice, not the st. louis christian metrovoice. when people start using the word "christian" as if it is a bad word indicating nothing thereafter is believable, it only exposes their own prejudices and biases.
" who's controlling county libraries: taxpayers or the ala? new teen sections at county libraries stocked with sexually explicit materials ," by dan kleinman , st. louis metrovoice , 21 august 2008.
" [alacoun] re: censorship issue ," by james casey , american library association , 5 august 2008.
" letters: board bans junk food, but not racy books ," by guy hegg , appleton post-crescent , 29 may 2008.
" library seeks porn parity ," by sarah portlock , the brooklyn paper , 17 may 2008.
" assorted links ," by david durant , heretical librarian , 17 april 2008.
" librarian child porn story taking off ," by steven m. cohen , library stuff , 21 march 2008.
" librarian in nation's headlines; lindsay firing sparks debate on news sites and among bloggers ," by david castellon , visalia times-delta; tulare advance-register , 18 march 2008.
" plan2succeed's bookmarks on del.icio.us ," by steven m. cohen , library stuff , 16 march 2008.
" safelibraries response to internet filtering on library computers; an overview by frank versagi ," by dan kleinman , versagi voice [royal oak, mi] , 12 march 2008.
" internet filtering on library computers; an overview ," by frank versagi , versagi voice [royal oak, mi] , 12 march 2008.
" laura kostial -- bad books in libraries -- 3-8-08 (part 1) ," by laura kostial with dan kleinman as a caller, eagle forum live with phyllis schlafly , 8 march 2008.
" laura kostial -- bad books in libraries -- 3-8-08 (part 2) ," by laura kostial with dan kleinman as a caller, eagle forum live with phyllis schlafly , 8 march 2008.
" library crime in royal oak, mi and the media ," by dan kleinman , royal oak daily tribune , 3 march 2008. [ not available online - right now i only have the original letter i sent to the editor. ]
" library filtering legislation needed ," by dan kleinman , illinois family institute , 23 february 2008.
" library filtering legislation needed ," by dan kleinman , chicago daily herald , 21 february 2008.
" massachusetts library revisits security after child molested ," by the ala , american libraries , 8 february 2008.
" another book stirs suitability debate ," by john j. hopkins , cheektowaga times (ny) , 17 january 2008.
" 'banned books' or planned deception? ," by arlene sawicki , illinois family institute , 1 october 2007.
" activists debate seized book ," by lydia seabol avant , tuscaloosa news , 1 october 2007.
" book banning efforts bring on title fights; awareness campaign punches back but critics not flinching ," by stevenson swanson , chicago tribune , 30 september 2007.
" school board should take responsibility for book choice ," by dan kleinman , daily southtown , 25 september 2007. see also " district 126 school board should take responsibility for book choice ," by dan kleinman , illinois family institute , 26 september 2007.
" another take ," by jerry mulvihill, president of district 126 board of education , daily southtown , 7 september 2007.
" another take ," by william beaulieu , daily southtown , 6 september 2007.
" download mp3 tue 08/21/2007 hour #1: dan kleinman, safelibraries.org and karen lukes (parent) re: followup on 8/7/2007 district no. 126 (alsip & oak lawn) ," by host sandy rios , guest karen lukes , guest dan kleinman , the sandy rios show , 21 august 2007.
" more inappropriate material for oak lawn children ," by dan kleinman , illinois family institute , 21 august 2007.
" download mp3 tue 08/07/2007 hour #2: dan kleinman, safelibraries.org re: profane books for students in cook county school district no. 126 (alsip & oak lawn, il) ," by host sandy rios , guest karen lukes , guest dan kleinman , the sandy rios show , 8 august 2007.
" filter bill stalled in illinois legislature ," by norman oder , library journal , 5 june 2007. this article corrects a previous one where, in comments, we pointed out that the information provided by the illinois library association was false--see article and comments to " in protest, il pls turn off net; proposed state filter law would go beyond cipa ," by norman oder , library journal , 1 june 2007.
" internet filters hit snag; library leaders hit 'perennial problem' as costly, restrictive ," by jo napolitano , chicago tribune , 30 may 2007.
" local control for libraries? who are you kidding? ," by dan kleinman , illinois family institute , 29 may 2007.
" open letter to illinois legislators re: hb 1727 and ila misinformation ," by dan kleinman , illinois family institute , 10 may 2007.
" open letter to lawmakers regarding library internet filters ," by dan kleinman , illinois family institute , 13 march 2007.
" libraries, children and value voters; ala says children and playboy magazine perfect together ," by dan kleinman , new jersey family magazine , 2007. see also " ala says children and playboy magazine perfect together ," by dan kleinman , illinois family institute , 24 january 2007.
"oak lawn, illinois," by judith f. krug , [ala] newsletter on intellectual freedom , january 2006, p.10.
" disagrees with letter on playboy ," by paul bohanek , daily southtown , 24 november 2005. [response to gay group support of library 'alarming' ] wow, the personal attacks on mark decker have reached another low, now going after his profession, and pornography for children is defended as "freedom." the letter is, however, funny since pure desperation is evident, yet sad in the amount of personal, group, and religious attacks packed into three small paragraphs to attempt to justify pornography for children in a public library. apparently, we are not the only ones to notice this:

the letter to the editor by paul bohanek calling those who work for the illinois family insititue [sic] (ifi) "a bunch of bigots" (nov. 24) is very sad and is yet another example of the hypocritical "tolerance" of the left. bohanek is quick to disparage others by calling them names, but he does not offer a substantial argument as to why he holds this emotionally charged opinion. ifi has consistently defended its positions with sensible arguments in letters to the editor and with articles on a number of different public policy questions on their web site. it is intellectually dishonest to call a group of people names simply because you disagree with them. source: "it's unfair to resort to name-calling," by john naughton , daily southtown , 11 december 2005.
" library sex offender incident fuels internet filter push; offender admitted viewing porn on library pcs ," by abby simons , the des moines register , 21 november 2005.
" gay group support of library 'alarming' ," by colleen garcia , daily southtown , 17 november 2005. [response to library critics are 'know nothings' ]
" library critics are 'know nothings' ," by bob schwartz, gay liberation front , daily southtown , 13 november 2005.
" readers debate playboy's place in oak lawn library ," daily southtown , 9 november 2005:

supports village board on playboy , by nancy m. czerwiec
chagrined by censorship attempt , by r. william wolf
applauds trustees for taking stand , by kathy valente
distressed by 'narrow-minded action' , by linda melander
library, southtown editorial are elitist , by david e. smith , illinois family institute
library should stand by its principles , by william beaulieu regarding "censorship" of playboy , "thomas jefferson must be spinning in his grave!"

" daily southtown suggests public is "irrelevant" on playboy in the library ," by david e. smith , illinois family institute , 7 november 2005.
" village board is wrong to enter playboy fray ," by our editorial board , daily southtown , 6 november 2005.
" mom wants playboy out of library ," by natalia smith , daily southtown , 2 november 2005.
" check us out ," by the playboy forum , playboy magazine , nov 2005.
" town leaders reopen playboy decision ," by the ala , american libraries , 28 october 2005.
" oak lawn presses library on playboy ," by victoria pierce , chicago tribune , 27 october 2005.
" village to ask library to remove playboy ," by daniel duggan , daily southtown , 26 october 2005. [also published the next day in the star as "oak lawn board asks village to remove playboy from its shelves."]
" porn dealers given notice; oak lawn police warn of possible obscenity charges ," by daniel duggan , daily southtown , 13 october 2005. mayor david heilmann said, "we don't want children exposed to obscenity, and we'll do the best we can to protect them from that."
" playboy a cause of crime on kids, women ," by nancy czerwiec , daily southtown , 4 october 2005.
" oak lawn public library patrons say "no" to playboy magazine ," by safelibraries.org , illinois family institute , 30 september 2005.
" the issue is spending tax money on playboy ," by mark decker , daily southtown , 28 september 2005.
" library is for adults, too - not just kids ," by naomi miller , daily southtown , 22 september 2005.
"oak lawn, illinois," by judith f. krug , [ala] newsletter on intellectual freedom , september 2005, pp.216-217.
" oak lawn pressed on anti-playboy fight ," by victoria pierce , chicago tribune , 14 july 2005.
" protests 'playboy' in library; oak lawn man states that magazine may entice sex offenders ," by yvette presberry , southwest news-herald , 6 jul 2005.
" readers: ban the bunnies; readers sound off on playboy in libraries ," daily southtown , 2 jul 2005. 37 wrote in favor of removing playboy and 3 wrote against removing playboy. those in favor are mark decker , oak lawn; arlene sawicki , south barrington; chris bekermeier , homer glen; emily wray , chicago; joetta deutsch , taylorville; karen hayes , palos heights; kathy valente , lansing; nancy m. czerwiec , former oak lawn library board member, oak lawn; many more . those against are mike sutko , oak lawn library trustee, oak lawn; not many more .
" oak lawn library vows to keep playboy on shelf ," by jo napolitano , chicago tribune , 23 june 2005.
" resident urges oak lawn to crack down on porn ," by victoria pierce , chicago tribune , 26 may 2005.

how to link to us

link idea a

link idea b

safelibraries.org - are children safe in public libraries?

link idea c

safe libraries

our awards / recognition

" assorted links ," by david durant , heretical librarian , 17 apr 2008: "also, i'll mention a pair of conservative/libertarian blogs for your consideration: safe libraries and jeffrey quick's site . we don't necessarily agree on every issue, but feel free to read them for yourself."
" librarian child porn story taking off ," by steven m. cohen , library stuff , 21 mar 2008: "no better place to keep up with the story than here . again, it's one side of the story."
" plan2succeed's bookmarks on del.icio.us ," by steven m. cohen , library stuff , 16 mar 2008: "want to stay current on library porn/filtering/computer news? this is the place . of course, it's one sided, but it's better than no sided. :-)"
safelibraries.org received the " daily sucker for friday, january 4, 2008 " award from web pages that suck , a web site we recommend as a resource for learning how to write good web pages (the best being " html: an interactive tutorial for beginners ").
" myspace statistics and adult responses ,"

wesley fryer

moving at the speed of creativity

lmirl