Olympian Johnny Weir funds Quarryville library after Fulton Twp. cuts gift over LGBTQ+ content; Lancaster Online, November 6, 2023

JACK PANYARD , Lancaster Online; Olympian Johnny Weir funds Quarryville library after Fulton Twp. cuts gift over LGBTQ+ content

"When figure skating icon and Quarryville native Johnny Weir heard Fulton Township supervisors were defunding the borough’s library because it offers materials about LGBTQ+ life and culture, he decided to step in.

Weir, an avid supporter of both his hometown and LGBTQ+ causes, announced over social media Saturday that he would cover the township’s annual $1,000 allocation to the library for as long as he could, saying via Instagram that he wanted to “help save a community that raised me and to make sure the library represents everyone, not just the few.”

Weir’s generosity has become contagious."

Ridgeland Mayor Demands LGBTQ+ Book Purge, Threatens Library Funding; Mississippi Free Press, January 25, 2022

Nick Judin Mississippi Free Press; Ridgeland Mayor Demands LGBTQ+ Book Purge, Threatens Library Funding

"Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee is withholding $110,000 of funding from the Madison County Library System allegedly on the basis of his personal religious beliefs, with library officials stating that he has demanded that the system initiate a purge of LGBTQ+ books before his office releases the money.

Tonja Johnson, executive director for the Madison County Library System, told the Mississippi Free Press in an afternoon interview that she first reached out to Mayor McGee after failing to receive the City of Ridgeland’s first quarterly payment of 2022.

Johnson said the mayor informed her that no payment was forthcoming. “He explained his opposition to what he called ‘homosexual materials’ in the library, that it went against his Christian beliefs, and that he would not release the money as the long as the materials were there,” the library director said.

The director then explained to the mayor that the library system, as a public entity, was not a religious institution. “I explained that we are a public library and we serve the entire community. I told him our collection reflects the diversity of our community,” Johnson said."

Find hope in your local library; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/10/17

Marilyn Jenkins, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; 

Find hope in your local library:

"While it is important to celebrate their success during the past 25 years, ACLA and member libraries will continue to look ahead. Constant changes in technology, pressure on the RAD to fund a wider range of assets, the growing demands of residents for current information in new formats and the continued need to diversify library funding are just a few of the issues with which we’re dealing. Fortunately, Allegheny County’s libraries now are building on a solid foundation of collaboration.

Our libraries took “A Quiet Crisis” a quarter century ago and turned it into a model of regional cooperation. It is remarkable what can happen when committed individuals share a common vision, roll up their sleeves and work together.

So, if you get discouraged in the days and weeks ahead as the new year unfolds, just pull out your library card and remember what’s possible. And if you don’t have a library card — make getting one your easiest resolution for 2017!

Just visit any local library or www.aclalibraries.org to find out how.

Marilyn Jenkins is executive director of the Allegheny County Library Association."