Library refuses donation from atheist “hate group”
But when Mehta asked his readers to pitch in to make up the difference and they rallied their support, Park District officials flatly refused the check, saying the district “has no intention of becoming embroiled in a First Amendment dispute.” Mehta, now faced with the unusual dilemma of having a few thousand dollars and a recipient who didn’t want it, next went to the Morton Grove Public Library. The library’s rejection was even firmer. During a debate over whether to accept the money, trustee Cathy Peters cited some of the more incendiary commenters on Mehta’s Friendly Atheist Facebook page and said, “They’re a hate group,” and asked, “Would you take money from the Klan?” Mehta argued, “I get 2,000 comments a day and don’t always look through all of them. Anyone who operates a forum understands that. I stand by my own posts, but them being bothered by random comments is a weak argument.” But the library stood firm.
Michael Sauers is the Director of Logan Library in Logan, UT. Prior to this he was one of the founding staff and Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
Unless otherwise stated, all opinions are my own and are not to be considered those of the City of Logan, UT.
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But when Mehta asked his readers to pitch in to make up the difference and they rallied their support, Park District officials flatly refused the check, saying the district “has no intention of becoming embroiled in a First Amendment dispute.” Mehta, now faced with the unusual dilemma of having a few thousand dollars and a recipient who didn’t want it, next went to the Morton Grove Public Library. The library’s rejection was even firmer. During a debate over whether to accept the money, trustee Cathy Peters cited some of the more incendiary commenters on Mehta’s Friendly Atheist Facebook page and said, “They’re a hate group,” and asked, “Would you take money from the Klan?” Mehta argued, “I get 2,000 comments a day and don’t always look through all of them. Anyone who operates a forum understands that. I stand by my own posts, but them being bothered by random comments is a weak argument.” But the library stood firm.
