West Bend Timeline (Home):

2009: February, March, April, May, June, July, August

06-01-09 ALA (Caldwell-Stone) emails Library (Deters) talking points for the library board meeting the next night and asks if anything should be added: "My talking points documents are attached. Please let me know if you would like me to expand them." Note, the Caldwell-Stone speech given the next day was substantially similar to the attached documents. (email via ORR, page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, page 6, page 7, page 8, page 9, page 10, page 11, page 12)
06-01-09 ALA (Caldwell-Stone) emails Library (Pekoll) with legal advice on a case, then lends derogatory comments about SafeLibraries.org, then thanks her for the hospitality and promises to return the next day: "As promised, attached is the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision that discusses youth First Amendment right [sic]; the court's decision overturned a statute that required retailers and arcades to bar youth from violent video games, on the grounds the statute violated young people's First Amendment rights. Though it does not deal directly with books, its reasoning can be applied by analogy to books. (The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals includes Wisconsin within its jurisdiction.) Also, here is a link to another blog you may find useful (I did, of course!) http://sexdrugsandintellectualfreedom.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/dan-i-dont-play-gotcha-kleinman/ Thanks so much for your hospitality on Friday! I plan to be in West Bend tomorrow." Note, the case was AAMA v. Kendrick, 244 F.3d. 572. (7th Cir. 2001) (email via ORR)
06-02-09 ALA (Caldwell-Stone) emails Library (Deters) more talking points for the library board meeting the next night. Again, the Caldwell-Stone speech given that night was substantially similar. (email via ORR, page 1, page 2)
06-02-09 Library Board holds a public meeting and addresses the single issue of whether to move any books. Unanimously, no.
06-02-09 Elizabeth Buchanan, SOIS, offers chair position for the IFRT to Tyree. (via email/ORR)
06-03-09 ALA (Caldwell-Stone) emails Library (Tyree) asking for information and photos from "Read-In" that protested the removal of sexually explicit books for youth in the Young Adult section of the library, and asked for information on mayoral appointments (via email/ORR).
06-03-09 ALA (Caldwell-Stone) emails Library (Tyree, Pekoll, Reilly-Kliss, Deters) and Citizens (Hanrahan) to thank them, look forward to meeting them at the ALA meeting, provide personal assistance, and mock Maziarka (for not publishing a comment on her blog, although the OIF Blog allows no comments at all): "Friends, I want to thank all of you for your hospitality, and thank you for all the hard work and effort you all put into defending free access and intellectual freedom in the West Bend Community Library [sic]. It is a privilege to work with all of you (though it is my fervent hope that this particular project has come to an end!) Please share my thanks and admiration with all the members of the library board. I look forward to your panel at ALA Annual - please don't hesitate to get in touch with myself, Angela, or Bryan if you need assistance or suggestions. One last thing - as a point of personal privilege, I wanted to share the comment I posted to the WISSUP blog this morning (not surprisingly, it has not yet appeared on the WISSUP blog): 'Ginny, I respectfully ask that you correct your account, which misquotes me.' ...." See full Caldwell-Stone comment on WISSUP. (email via ORR)
06-03-09 Library (Reilly-Kliss) emails ALA (Caldwell-Stone) to thank her for her personal appearance at the meeting the night before, mock Maziarka, and promise to watch for intellectual freedoms issues: "Just a personal note to thank you again for your personal appearance and presentation at our board meeting last night. Your information was right on point and so important, despite what the 'wissip' folks think! .... I have no idea where this experience will take me, but you can be sure that I will be out there watching and helping others who find themselves in similar situations." (email via ORR)
06-03-09 Elizabeth Buchanan, Director, School of Information Studies, UWM, congratulates librarians on June 2nd vote. (via email/ORR)
06-04-09 Alderman Nick Dobberstein alerts Library Director Michael Tyree to ALA article that includes interview by library board member, Mary Reilly-Kliss. (via email/ORR)
06-04-09 PFOX (Parents and Friends of Gays and Ex-Gays) offers to donate an ex-gay children's book to help offset balance of materials at the library. This was later rejected. (via email/ORR)
06-04-09 Mary Reilly-Kliss, library board member, lends interview to the ALA condemning West Bend City Council members.
06-04-09 School of Information Studies - UWM: Elizabeth Buchanan asks West Bend Library Director, Michael Tyree, to take the chair-elect position on the IFRT, Intellectual Freedom Roundtable/ALA (three-year commitment). (via email/ORR)
06-04-09 Mr. Tyree accepts position above. (email via ORR)
06-04-09 ALA Director, Deborah Caldwell-Stone thanks Library Board/Librarians for working with her; looks forward to ALA panel the West Bend librarians and library board member, Barbara Deters, have agreed to do at the ALA Conference in July (Chicago). (email via ORR)
06-04-09 Waring Fincke, local attorney, requests to speak with City Attorney Mary Schanning concerning "potential problems with aldermanic interviews of candidates for library board." (via email/ORR)
06-04-09 Joyce Latham, SOIS-UWM, sends congratulatory email to Alderman Nick Dobberstein concerning outcome of June 2nd meeting. (via email/ORR)
06-07-09 John Aynesworth, library board member, emails Barbara Deters, library board president, and offers to replace Tom Fitz if he should not be reappointed by the City Council. (via email/ORR page 1, page 2)
06-08-09 Patti Geidel, WBCML Board Member, sends UWM/SOIS, Mary Wepking, the op-ed piece from the West Bend Daily News written by gay books author, Brent Hartinger, stating it was written per the request of Library Director, Michael Tyree. (via email/ORR)
06-08-09 "WI's West Bend Library Board Says 'No' to Relocating YA Books," by Debra Lau Whelan, School Library Journal, 8 June 2009. Quotes from issue participants include these:

“Like the James Brown song goes, ‘I Feel Good,’” says Library Director Michael Tyree about the June 2 decision to shoot down a complaint filed by parents Jim and Ginny Maziarka. “In fact, the board voted to squelch the entire complaint. There will be no moving of materials, no labeling of materials, no disconnecting the Over the Rainbow link in our Web site, no filtering of Internet computers, and no multi-tiered library card system for minors.” Over the Rainbow is the name of a gay-themed reading list on the library’s Web site.
“One local who spoke said I should be tarred and feathered and that J. K. Rowling should be shot,” says Tyree, who was the timekeeper at the gathering. “Others quoted scripture from the bible.”
Although the board’s decision finally resolves the issue about the fate of the 82 titles on the Maziarkas list of objectionable books, the issue is far from being resolved. “It's not that I'm pessimistic by nature; rather, it's my experience and understanding that groups similar to West Bend Parents for Safe Libraries don't readily accept no as an answer,” says Tyree, referring to the local citizens group founded by the Maziarkas to help support their cause.
Now Tyree anticipates that the Maziarkas and their supporters will wait to see who Mayor Kristine Deiss will recommend as their replacements. “If they find a kindred spirit to be placed on the board, the issue will rise again,” Tyree says.

06-09-09 Waring Fincke, local attorney, sends open records request to city hall on official letterhead. (original copy of document)
06-09-09 Rich Kasten, library board member applicant, questions mayor on status of position. (via email/ORR) see also, 06-13-09
06-11-09 City Attorney, Mary Schanning, sends information regarding library board appointees to Mayor Deiss and Michael Tyree, Library Director, stating county residents may serve on board. (via email/ORR)
06-13-09 Mayor Deiss responds to Rich Kasten, library board member applicant, notifying him he was not selected. (via email/ORR)
06-13-09 Rich Kasten, library board member applicant, responds to Mayor Deiss concerning rejection of library board application. (via email/ORR)
06-14-09 Mary Reilly-Kliss sends letter to City Attorney Mary Schanning along with open records that were requested by Maziarkas, requesting reimbursement for printing of records. (via email/ORR)
06-16-09 City Attorney Mary Schanning sends letter to request payment for Open Records Request to Maziarkas (Letter/ORR, page 1, page 2)
06-19-09 "Library Book Riles Small Wisconsin Town, 'Baby-Be-Bop' and its Gay Teen Angst Too Much for Christian Civil Liberties Union," by Anne-Marie Dorning, ABC News, 19 June 2009. Quotes from issue participants include these:

There are 174,000 books in the West Bend Community Memorial Library, but Robert Braun, 74, of West Allis, Wis., just wants to burn one -- "Baby Be-Bop," by Francesca Lia Block. "We will have demonstrations if they don't remove it," he said. "It has to be out of the library. If that doesn't happen, I will be out there burning."
Braun said he found the homosexual content particularly offensive. "They call one character 'faggot' with every swear word you can think of ... and they use the N-word," Braun said.
Maziarka said she first learned about sexually explicit teen literature by looking at the library's Web site. "I couldn't understand why we were recommending books on sex to teens ... and we're not talking about hickeys; these are crude and raunchy books."
Maziarka said she is not in favor of book burning or banning but would like several books, including "Baby Be-Bop," moved to a separate section in the library and be clearly identified with a warning label indicating the book is "sexually explicit." She said her organization has nothing to do with the Christian Civil Liberties Union.
Meetings are now regularly posted on YouTube, and tensions run high. "I heard one city council member say we are a porn shop," Tyree said. "People go to church now and hear we have a porn pit here ... you know many of these people making the accusations don't even have library cards." As the father of twin 16-year-old boys, Tyree thinks the protestors and the book-burners are missing the point. "My son, Josh, said, 'Dad, nobody our age reads anymore." Tyree said his son wonders why people are so worried about a book that will take three hours to plow through because kids in study hall can get to explicit sex sites in 20 seconds on their phones. "Reading is not where kids get information about sex acts these days," Tyree said.
In an e-mail message, Block said the themes in her books cover "equal rights, self-expression and the healing power of art and love." Block added, "I am certainly not anti-Christian in any way and respect true Christianity."

06-30-09 "Book Burners Plan Prayer Vigil/Christian Civil Liberties Union 'Baby Be-Bop' a 'hate crime book'", Dave Rank, Daily News Staff, West Bend Daily News, 30 June 2009.
06-30-09 "West Bend Librarians and Community Activists Share Censorship Stories at ALA Annual Conference," by Deborah Caldwell-Stone, OIF Blog, 30 June 2009.

West Bend Timeline - June 2009