Society of Secret Library Friends

A group of library workers and allies working together to support libraries. Idaho chapter. Email us at [email protected]

[Society of Secret Library Friends @sslibfriends]

We’re currently taking a bit of a hiatus to focus on summer reading, HB710 preparation, and squeezing in a vacation, among other secret shenanigans.

You can still support libraries through the Idaho Library Association (ILA)’s fundraiser: https://t.co/KcmMi6mE6a.

[EveryLibrary @EveryLibrary]

A handful of far-right activists want to control what you and your family are allowed to read.

A small number of individuals are responsible for the majority of Utah’s book challenges

In Davis County, one person challenged 24 of the 25 books that were ultimately banned, and in one district, 199 out of 204 book challenges came from a single couple.

https://t.co/X3EZDOLwrN

[Rory Blank @BoneJail]

You can go to the library. It's free and they don't censor the movies. And what do you mean return? Pizza Hut never went away. There has never been a point in time where Pizza Hut went away.

[Noname Book Club @NonameBooks]

Please don’t only retweet me when I’m looking cute. Please also share the community work we do. We sent 1300 books to our incarcerated members this month! For $1/month you can support our free library in LA and our national books to prison program 🤍https://t.co/ucXFOfI0ym

[Heidi Colom @HeidiLibrarian]

https://t.co/bkuc8flB7G

[Mike 📺 @michaelcollado]

She never increases the price of her subscription.

[Raconteur Press, LLC @raconteur_press]

Sounds like a good one.

[EveryLibrary @EveryLibrary]

Organizations like this will flat out lie to Americans to turn us against each other.

Don’t let them lie to you.

We found the Bible in every school.

We found HUNDREDS of biblically themed books in the district and we found HUNDREDS of books supporting Christianity in the district.

[Megan | @megievalist @megievalist]

People sleep on libraries!

I've gone to gardening workshops and received free plants

I listen to audiobooks for free

I can avail myself of up-to-date newspapers and magazines when I infrequently feel like it

etc. It's more than just books to read, which is also a great perk!

[madi ☠︎ @ASTR0ZOMBIEZ]

I work at a public library, we have a lot of space themed toys in the kids section and today a group of them were pretending to be the artemis crew and playing with our helmets 🥹🥹🥹

[Kim Kelly @GrimKim]

not enough! the public library is a precious resource that will disappear if people don’t use it!

[Chris Alvino @ChrisAlvino]

After I got long COVID and couldn't afford to keep buying books anymore, I got a library card online and it's been great!Didn't know they had apps with all the audiobooks and movies right there. Wish I had gotten one sooner, could have saved THOUSANDS on audiobooks

[Candace from Atlantis 🍑 @MimiDigital]

But also USE IT! I went to the library across from the High Museum the other day+it had great city views, books on everything from homeschooling to old Atlanta maps+they were having a Lego event! Free parking, relaxing environment, nice staff, etc.

The original third space.

[Society of Secret Library Friends @sslibfriends]

Here we go again.

Alright, library friends, time to write to your Idaho state representatives to ask them to vote no on HB 819. #idpol #idleg #letIdahoread

[Heidi Colom @HeidiLibrarian]

Your Local Library Probably Loans More Than Books—Including Cake Pans and Garden Tools
It’s time to stop by the nearest branch.
https://t.co/Y9nkrVgxuG

[The Husky @Mr_Husky1]

The public library is a quiet place for quiet people. Since I retired, I go there three days a week. I sit in the corner, read historical biographies, and enjoy the air conditioning.

You see a lot of life happen in a library if you actually pay attention.

A few months ago, I started noticing a young father coming in with his little girl. She looked about five, always wearing these bright light-up sneakers. She would run to the children's section, grab a pile of picture books, and drag him to a beanbag chair.

She’d hold the book up to him. "Read it, Daddy!"

And every time, the dad would do the same thing. He would look at the pages, clear his throat, and start making up a story based on the pictures.

"And then the... the big bear went to the forest," he would say.

"No Daddy," the little girl would correct him, pointing at the page. "That's a dog."

He would laugh nervously, rub the back of his neck, and say, "Right. Silly Daddy. He forgot his glasses today."

He forgot his glasses every Tuesday and Thursday for a month.

I was an English teacher for forty years. I know what illiteracy looks like when it's trying to hide. The shame radiating off that young man was palpable. He loved his daughter enough to bring her to the library, but he couldn't read the words she loved.

One afternoon, the little girl wandered off to look at a fish tank across the room. The dad sat alone, staring at a Dr. Seuss book. He looked defeated.

I closed my biography, walked over, and sat in the small chair next to him.

"They don't make English easy, do they?" I said quietly.

He stiffened, defensive. "I just forgot my glasses."

"I know," I said, keeping my voice low. "But when I was teaching, I found out that a lot of very smart, very capable people just never had someone sit down and teach them the rules of the letters. The system failed them. They didn't fail the system."

He stared at the floor. I could see his jaw clenching.

"I'm here Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays," I told him, sliding a blank piece of paper and a pencil across the small table. "If you ever want to read her the actual story... I've got nothing but time."

I didn't wait for an answer. I just went back to my corner.

He didn't come to me that day. Or the next.

But two weeks later, on a Thursday, he walked over to my table while his daughter was at storytime. He pulled out the chair, sat down, and looked me dead in the eye.

"I want to read the book about the caterpillar," he whispered. "Her birthday is next month. I want to read her the caterpillar book."

That was six months ago.

Yesterday, I sat in my corner and listened as a young man with a slight stutter perfectly read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to a little girl with light-up shoes.

When he finished, she clapped. He looked over the bookshelf at me, and just nodded.

Sometimes, the heaviest things we carry are the secrets we think make us broken. But if you're brave enough to ask for help, you'll usually find someone waiting to share the load.

[Jennifer Lee Rossman @JenLRossman]

I've started reading 1984, and I really thought everyone was exaggerating but oh my God we need to read this book more as a society, it's the kind of explicit cautionary tale we don't usually get except in Greek mythology

[LJ's infoDOCKET (@infoDOCKET on Bluesky) @infodocket]

Report: Idaho Republican Lawmaker Proposes Reworking Library Book Restriction Law (via @IdahoCapitalSun)
https://t.co/5bqsl7si6T #libraries #books

[EveryLibrary @EveryLibrary]

A recently fired substitute teacher in the Twin Falls School District who in December founded a local chapter of Moms for Liberty has challenged more than 95 books in the district’s collection — and two have been removed.

https://t.co/nI2zAZvaRk