<div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Congrats to the Crook County Library staff and their supporters for successfully fighting off attempts to label LGBTQ books. Here are several stories highlighting the meeting<b>, </b>including statements from members of the Oregon library community. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcentraloregondaily.com%2Flgbtq-childrens-books-crook-county-library-vote%2F&data=05%7C01%7CArlene.WEIBLE%40slo.oregon.gov%7C3fadf4166ae1485f6bcd08dad9fa50d1%7Caa3f6932fa7c47b4a0cea598cad161cf%7C0%7C0%7C638061966384026586%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=AX%2Bs3piG7A5HoMnTK1LFJ0FW2i%2BcXrENHv%2BXx%2B6nqng%3D&reserved=0" style="color:rgb(5,99,193)">https://centraloregondaily.com/lgbtq-childrens-books-crook-county-library-vote/</a>
</p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">and</p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fktvz.com%2Fnews%2Fcrook-county%2F2022%2F12%2F08%2Fcrook-county-library-board-rejects-calls-to-label-lgbtq-books-move-them-from-childrens-area-to-special-spot%2F&data=05%7C01%7CArlene.WEIBLE%40slo.oregon.gov%7C3fadf4166ae1485f6bcd08dad9fa50d1%7Caa3f6932fa7c47b4a0cea598cad161cf%7C0%7C0%7C638061966384026586%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=fQle7VcnMLBt%2FB7CCmxtMh5bxnHuaLrEcY4zc978Zvo%3D&reserved=0" style="color:rgb(5,99,193)">https://ktvz.com/news/crook-county/2022/12/08/crook-county-library-board-rejects-calls-to-label-lgbtq-books-move-them-from-childrens-area-to-special-spot/</a>
</p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">and</p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bendbulletin.com%2Flocalstate%2Fcrook-county-library-rejects-controversial-proposal-to-move-lgbtq-childrens-books%2Farticle_f6dfdda0-7776-11ed-b0f7-e3381b8f8c7b.html&data=05%7C01%7CArlene.WEIBLE%40slo.oregon.gov%7C3fadf4166ae1485f6bcd08dad9fa50d1%7Caa3f6932fa7c47b4a0cea598cad161cf%7C0%7C0%7C638061966384026586%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=STinQSZ8JInvZvGA0joJqxKlRxi4zmqMzkyLM1y8xu4%3D&reserved=0" style="color:rgb(5,99,193)">https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/crook-county-library-rejects-controversial-proposal-to-move-lgbtq-childrens-books/article_f6dfdda0-7776-11ed-b0f7-e3381b8f8c7b.html</a></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b> </b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">I'd also like to highlight a separate news story where <span style="font-size:11pt">April Witteveen makes a strong statement about </span>libraries' role<span style="font-size:11pt"> in supporting diverse communities: “Equity and inclusion are not dirty
words, and they are not political words. To embrace principles of equity and
inclusion is to recognize that we each bring a variety of lived experiences to
our work, our education and our social groups.” Read the full story here</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b> </b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b>CROOK COUNTY LIBRARY: It has been a pleasure to serve you</b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpamplinmedia.com%2Fceo%2F162-news%2F565322-452770-crook-county-library-it-has-been-a-pleasure-to-serve-you&data=05%7C01%7CArlene.WEIBLE%40slo.oregon.gov%7C3fadf4166ae1485f6bcd08dad9fa50d1%7Caa3f6932fa7c47b4a0cea598cad161cf%7C0%7C0%7C638061966384182808%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=IQqUtvNbtGPN%2FmdtvkrAuMaiJhg6T%2FTnMcgGfnlLj0k%3D&reserved=0" style="color:rgb(5,99,193)">https://pamplinmedia.com/ceo/162-news/565322-452770-crook-county-library-it-has-been-a-pleasure-to-serve-you</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Thanks to April for her leadership in Crook County and beyond. She is a library rock star and Oregon is lucky to have her!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br></p><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-size:12.8px"><div dir="ltr"><div>Arlene Weible</div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">Oregon Library Association </span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">Immediate Past President, 2022-2023</span></div></div></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><a href="mailto:olapastpresident@olaweb.org" target="_blank">olapastpresident@olaweb.org</a></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:12.8px"></div></div></div></div></div>