Nevada: “Sheriff Threatens Library That Drafted Diversity Statement”
Four reports below.
From the Associated Press:
A Nevada sheriff posted a letter on his office’s website telling his county’s library to not bother calling 911 for help anymore after the library considered supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley posted the letter after the Douglas County Public Library considered publishing a statement in support of diversity and inclusion. A public meeting to consider the statement was later canceled, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.
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More From the Reno Gazette Journal:
The draft statement denounces “all acts of violence, racism and disregard for human rights.” It reads in part: “We support #BlackLivesMatter. We resolutely assert and believe that all forms of racism, hatred, inequality and injustice don’t belong in our society.”
“Due to your support of Black Lives Matter and the obvious lack of support or trust with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, please do not feel the need to call 911 for help,” Coverley wrote. “I wish you good luck with disturbances and lewd behavior, since those are just some of the recent calls my office has assisted you with in the past.”
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The draft diversity statement was set to be considered by the Board of Library Trustees at its meeting Tuesday. That meeting was canceled “due to overwhelming amount of community response,” county spokeswoman Melissa Blosser told the RGJ.
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“Sheriff Coverley would also like to take this opportunity to clarify that the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office will continue to respond to all 911 calls, including those at the Library,” Blosser said in a written press release.
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See Also: Douglas County Sheriff Clarifies Letter In Response To Library Diversity Statement (via KOLO)
See Also: Douglas County Sheriff Slams Library Board’s Support of Black Lives Matter (via MyNews4)
Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries, Publishing, Reports
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.