A California librarian who called police when she saw a man viewing what appeared to be child pornography on a library computer, and was fired for disobeying her supervisor's instructions not to notify authorities, has been given a Gold Star Award from an organization called Family Friendly Libraries.
Librarian Brenda Biesterfeld says she's glad her community considers her a hero for helping nab a child porn suspect, but wants her library job back |
Officials for Tulare County who employed Brenda Biesterfeld before she got a dismissal letter from County Librarian Brian Lewis also have begun backtracking, and now have offered to meet with her representatives for mediation.
But Mathew Staver, who is chief of Liberty Counsel and dean of the Liberty University School of Law, said he's not yet seen a formal response to his law firm's demand letter that Biesterfeld be reinstated.
"We have requested to have her reinstated with back pay and a policy drafted [to address such issues]," Staver said. "If they don't do that we will file suit." A deadline hasn't been set but "time is short," he said.
He said the organization is open to working with an independent mediator, but the goals will be unchanged.
The bizarre dispute erupted when on Feb. 28 Beisterfeld, a single mother, was working in the Lindsay branch of the county library, and she noticed Donny Lynn Chrisler, 39, viewing child porn on one of the public-use computers.
"She immediately went to her supervisor, Judi Hill, who instructed her to give him a warning and explain that on his second warning he would be banned from the library," Liberty Counsel said. "When Biesterfeld asked if she should call the police, Hill told her not to and that the library would handle it internally."
She also was told that "this happens more often than she would think."
Biesterfeld was so unnerved by the situation, she talked with police the next day. Then on March 4, when Chrisler returned, Biesterfeld saw him viewing more child porn and called police.
"When police officers arrived they caught Chrisler viewing the child pornography, arrested him, and placed him in the Tulare County Jail," Liberty Counsel said. "Further investigation uncovered more child pornography in Chrisler's home."
But when police confiscated the computer from the library, Hill confronted them and said they had no business enforcing the child pornography law within the library.
"Even after the police captain explained that a federal law had been violated, making it a legal matter to be handled by police, Hill never offered to help," Liberty Counsel said. "Instead, she demanded to know who made the report."
Two days later and without explanation Biesterfeld was fired.
Since that event, Hill reported that she had administrative reasons for dismissing Biesterfled, unrelated to the porn incident.
However, an evaluation given to Biesterfeld just days earlier, completed by Hill, said Biesterfeld's work "is reasonable and consistent with normal expectations of proficiency."
"Brenda, you are steadily increasing your skills in the domain of Public Service duties. You greet all customers in a friendly manner. The customers of Lindsay Branch enjoy your friendliness in the Branch. You spend time with each customer assisting them on the HIP computers placing HOLDS and locating materials. […] You are consistent while assisting customers with library policies, directional inquiries, assisting with public computers and assisting customers locate books in the Branch," Hill wrote.
"Brenda, continue to assist all customers coming into the Lindsay Branch in a fair and friendly manner. You have demonstrated the willingness to learn the Branch procedures and have accepted verbal directions. […] We will begin Branch Reference training in March 2008; this will assist you while working in a Branch Library," she continued.
The positive evaluation even indicated Hill's plans for Biesterfeld's advancement.
Staver said the county should be congratulating Biesterfeld instead of dismissing her, and the Family Friendly Libraries agreed.
The organization, "dedicated to maintaining safe public libraries," granted Biesterfeld its "Gold Star Award."
"Family Friendly Libraries grants Gold Star Awards to librarians who demonstrate exemplary dedication to protecting children in public libraries," the group said in its announcement.
The city of Lindsay presented the award, and councilwoman Suzi Picaso said her constituents are standing with Biesterfeld.
"Family Friendly Libraries commends Brenda Biesterfeld for courageously acting on her conscience, even risking her livelihood, to protect both the children in her community at risk of being exposed to criminal images displayed on a computer screen in the public library and children who are exploited by child pornography worldwide," the group said.
Randy Thomasson, chief of the Campaign for Children and Families, a prominent pro-family leadership group, said he was working to build support for the librarian.
"Our goal is to get Brenda's job back, to institute a new library policy that has no tolerance for obscenity and child pornography, and to send a nationwide message that child predators will not be allowed to 'do their thing' in libraries," he said.
The story has moved into national circles, too, with Staver appearing both on Fox News and the Glenn Beck Show to answer questions about the situation.
Thomasson said the local battle has significant national implications.
"We're also defending children nationwide," he said. "You see, the American Library Association, which is the controlling influence over libraries nationwide, views pornography and obscenity as 'intellectual freedom.' Because of this, many libraries in the U.S. allow child pornographers to use their Internet system undetected and unreported. Is it any wonder why child molestation has become so common?"
According to the association's own web page regarding intellectual freedom and censorship, it is not the work of a library to protect children from material that is "legally obscene."
"Governmental institutions cannot be expected to usurp or interfere with parental obligations and responsibilities when it comes to deciding what a child may read or view," the ALA says.
It also defines "intellectual freedom" as the right to see material "without restriction." Those who object to obscenity and its availability are "censors," who "try to use the power of the state to impose their view of what is truthful and appropriate."
"Each of us has the right to read, view, listen to, and disseminate constitutionally protected ideas, even if a censor finds those ideas offensive," the ALA states.
"Censors might sincerely believe that certain materials are so offensive, or present ideas that are so hateful and destructive to society, that they simply must not see the light of day. Others are worried that younger or weaker people will be badly influenced by bad ideas, and will do bad things as a result," the ALA said.
That was the point Steve Baldwin, a former California lawmaker, was making when he previously penned a column citing a report from the Family Research Council.
"A 2000 report by the Family Research Council details how its researchers sent out surveys to every librarian in America asking questions about access to pornography. Despite efforts by the ALA to stop its members from responding, 462 librarians did respond. Their replies revealed 472 instances of children assessing pornography, 962 instances of adults accessing pornography, 106 instances of adults exposing children to pornography, five attempted child molestations, 144 instances of child porn being accessed and 25 instances of library staff being harassed by those viewing pornography. Over 2,062 total porn-related incidents were reported by a mere 4.6 percent of our nation's librarians so one can assume the number of incidents is probably twenty times higher," he reported.
He wrote that the "bias" of the ALA is obvious.
"When parent groups have offered to place books in libraries with conservative themes or are critical of the left, the ALA's claims of being First Amendment guardians suddenly look fraudulent. When one parent tried to donate George Grant's book, 'Killer Angel,' a critical biography of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, the library sent a letter stating that 'the author's political and social agenda…is not appropriate.' Huh? A biographical book with zero profanity is banned but books that feature the 'F' word a hundred times are sought after with zeal. Go figure," Baldwin wrote.
Thomasson called on librarians across the country to report child pornography to law enforcement whenever it happens.
"The liberals who run the library system in America must stop violating the federal law because they regard child pornography as 'free speech,'" he said. "All pornography is immoral, but possession of child pornography is a federal crime. No librarian should fear reporting child pornography to the police, but libraries that fail to report these crimes should be very afraid. Brenda Biesterfeld will get her job back, and more."
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