Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Protecting the First Amendment and preserving the integrity of libraries

Last Word | October 17th, 2024

By Terry Kalil

terrykalil@gmail.com

Public libraries are making headlines nationwide and have become an unexpected target of efforts to limit individual rights, freedom of speech and critical thinking. Nationwide, Minnesota has taken a strong leadership stance in protecting Andrew Carnegie’s vision of public libraries as “dedicated to the diffusion of knowledge.” As a 2013 National Public Radio article noted, during the Depression when no one had any money, people went there to feed their brain.

The 2023-2024 Minnesota Legislative Biennium advanced the mission of our libraries in numerous significant ways:

  • Provided the first funding increase since 2008 in support for regional public libraries.
  • Funded $4 Million in library construction grants to begin chipping away at an estimated $94 Million in public library construction needs statewide.
  • Enacted legislation guaranteeing the public’s access to materials regardless of the viewpoint or opinion it contains. This law states that a public library must not ban, remove, or otherwise restrict access to a book or other materials. Intellectual freedom and First Amendment rights are now protected from efforts to suppress and ban broad perspectives from historically marginalized communities.
  • Created a statewide requirement for libraries to have collection development policies overseen by professionally trained librarians to ensure that all viewpoints are represented.
  • Protected parental rights to challenge content or restrict their child’s access to specific materials without limiting the rights of others.

All Minnesotans should be proud of these accomplishments. I invite you to join me in expressing my gratitude for the bipartisan efforts of legislators, working with educators and librarians, to ensure that public and school libraries serve all who enter without regard for ideology. As a 17-year-old, Carnegie recognized that a library held the key to opportunity for everyone. The 2023-2024 Minnesota Legislative Session helps ensure that this legacy lives on.

We live in an era when the media and the internet are readily available to push information out to the public without regard for veracity and without differentiating facts from opinions or conspiracy theories. As a counterbalance, public libraries exist as a refuge for those in search of facts, thoughtful perspectives, and a deeper understanding of subjects as diverse as art and artificial intelligence.

In the weeks ahead, voters will choose who represents their interests on school boards, city councils, county commissions, and in legislative and federal offices. Please consider where candidates stand on freedom of expression. Do they seek to broaden intellectual freedom, or do they promote restrictive policies limiting individual’s rights to make choices?

All of these contests have an impact on public and school libraries and their mission of providing unbiased, fact-based information from which individuals can make informed choices. Your vote is an important voice in protecting the First Amendment and preserving the integrity of libraries.

Terry Kalil is President Lake Agassiz Regional Library System.Lake Agassiz Regional Library is headquartered in Moorhead and serves Becker, Clay, Clearwater, Mahnomen, Norman, Polk and Wilkin Counties with 22 library facilities.

Recently in:

By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.com The business of Indian Hating is a lucrative one. It’s historically been designed to dehumanize Native people so that it’s easier to take their land. ‘Kill the Indian, save the man,”…

By Johnathan Campbell history@nd.gov Since Halloween is just around the corner, I thought I’d share three mysterious — and mildly creepy folktales — that have been shared about the Former Governors' Mansion State Historic Site,…

Thursday, November 7, 8 p.m.The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, FargoThe Minneapolis indie rock duo Bad Bad Hats hits the Fargo stage promoting their brand new, self-produced album titled “Bad Bad Hats.” Their name came from a song…

By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com As a political columnist, I know I should be writing an election preview for the issue of this paper that comes out just a couple weeks before what is being labeled, once again, as “the most…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill We Ever Recover from the Trump Virus of Universal Hate?Just a month ago, the primary doctor of 336 million U.S Americans,U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, issued an advisory on the mental…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s sophomore feature “Dandelion” is now playing in theaters following a world premiere at South by Southwest in March. The movie stars KiKi Layne as the…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Ted Martin, retired educator and western North Dakota native, currently has his art on view at Mind Virus Counter-Culture Books and Media. The exhibition features Martin’s colorful ink drawings…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

Rynn WillgohsJanuary 25, 1972-October 8, 2024 Rynn Azerial Willgohs, age 52, of Vantaa, Finland, died by suicide on October 8, 2024. Rynn became her true-self March 31, 2020. She immediately became a vocal and involved activist…

By Dina Butcherdina.wtba@midconetwork.com In 1938, when my parents were living in Germany, my father — along with 30,000 other Jewish men — was rounded up by Nazi Stormtroopers during an event known as Kristallnacht. He was taken…