Timeline at IRPL

A overview of events that led us to take action: 

Includes Parts of the Meeting Minutes from IRPL Board Meetings

April 10, 2023: 

• • The Ida Rupp Public Library (IRPL) can be viewed online at https://www.idarupp.org/ & their calendar can be viewed at https://www.idarupp.org/calendar 

  • From the Ida Rupp Public website calendar, Monday April 10, 2023: 3:30PM - LGBTQ+ 101 with Kaleidoscope Youth Center. Event details: Teens in grades 6-12 are invited to come to the library for a special presentation. There will be time for questions and answers guided by a guest speaker. Kaleidoscope Youth Center of Columbus, Ohio will be joining Mrs. Alana Magrum to allow teens to discuss in an open but guided forum. Teens are welcome to attend and ask any questions they may have or even just to come to listen and learn. For more information about the Kaleidoscope organization, please visit: http://www.kycohio.org/.  No registration required. Event type(s): Teen program. Age Group(s): Teens.

  • The following is a clause on the first page of the Kaleidoscope Youth Center Website: KYC offers FREE Drop-in Center programming for youth ages 12-20. During Center Based Program hours, kYC is closed to anyone who is over 20 or under 12 years old. This includes parents, guardians, family, counselors, etc. Only KYC staff and volunteers with background checks are permitted. Please contect info@kycohio.org with any questions! 

April 13, 2023:

• • Library Board Meeting Notes: 

    • https://www.idarupp.org/_files/ugd/866784_3eb4518d02ac4fafac1250256a136939.pdf 

    • Public Comments/Correspondence: "None."

    • Director of IRPL comments: Laura and Courtney continue to design flyers, etc. to promote the summer reading programs. These will be distributed to the local schools, chamber, local businesses and available at the library and branches. Worked to prepare the necessary levy resolutions to be sent to the County Prosecutor for review

    • Levy: Resolution 2023 – 005: Resolution requesting the Ottawa County Auditor to certify the total current tax valuation of the district of the Ida Rupp Public Library. This is the first of three needed to get the Levy on the ballot in November. Jim Widmer introduced the following motion and moved its passage: “Resolution requesting the Ottawa County Auditor to certify the total tax valuation of the library district of the Ida Rupp Public Library, Ottawa, Ohio and the amount to be generated during the first year of collection of a replacement levy for current expenses of the Ida Rupp Public Library.” Motion was seconded by Kevin Francis. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.

  • NOTE: Board Meeting Minutes were not posted until June 26, 2023.

June 8, 2023: 

• • Sixty-one people attended the Board Meeting as opponents and proponents of the Kaleidoscope program. 

  • Opposition to the program was dismissive and no follow up given regarding questions asked at previous meeting about parental consent.

  • Comments from the LGBT+ community were welcomed as they shared about their gender choice, feeling bullied, & struggle with suicide.  The proponents were from outside of the patronage area of IRPL and not familiar with the Kaleidoscope program themselves. 

  •  At the end of the meeting, the Director of the Board stated that they would need to have another meeting to discuss the issue of the program & comments made stating, "it would need to be public." 

  • Library Board Meeting Notes:

    • Public Comments/Correspondences: There were 61 people who signed in prior to the meeting and expressed interest in commenting on a specific program held at the library in April. In addition, there were several pieces of correspondence received via mail and email at the library and directly by members of the Board of Trustees. Prior to opening the meeting to the public for comment, Board President Margy VanLerberghe, read a brief statement. This was the same statement that was read at the May meeting held at the Marblehead Branch. Then followed comments, encouragement, criticism and suggestions from many in attendance. The roster of attendees and correspondence received is incorporated herein.  https://www.idarupp.org/_files/ugd/866784_8846c49f81cb4cedabdbe9dec87baf70.pdf 

    • Director's Report: 

      • Megan Osborn, the newest Youth associate did her first with 38 attendees.

      • Courtney McGrath reported that there continues to be a good program attendance.

      • Full details of the Directors Report are included with the minutes.

    • Items for discussion: 

      • Lindsay gave a brief update on the upcoming Levy.

      • Margy suggested that the Board needs to schedule a special meeting to discuss the information from the public comments and correspondence from the last two meetings.

    • Note: Board Meeting Minutes were not posted until August 8, 2023. There is no direct reference to what the criticism and comments were regarding. The statement read by the Board President is not posted to view even though it is listed as attached. The roster of attendees & correspondences received are also not attached to the Minutes.

September 25, 2023: 

• August 10th, 2023 meeting minutes finally posted. 

•  Library Board Meeting Notes for August 10th, 2023:

  • Kaleidoscope: Margy VanLerberghe informed those in attendance that the Board is planning to have a representative of Kaleidoscope at the October meeting. 

  • Public Comments: There were nineteen members of the public in attendance. Greg Fox commented on minutes from prior meeting to reflect details of programs. Lori Kaiser wants the June minutes to reflect positive comments regarding the Kaleidoscope program. Toni DuLuca questioned the Kaleidoscope credentials. Wendy Worley commented on the minutes and that Kaleidoscope has been doing programs since 2018. Barb Collins read a letter (included). Referencing the ORC. Kathy Smith left a package of information about things she finds objectionable. 

  • https://www.idarupp.org/_files/ugd/866784_c6e8887468e444d4b61625ecd5917f45.pdf 

• Corrections from our Consortium as the meeting minutes have been falsified: 

  • There were 19 individuals who signed in for the meeting but at the advised of the director of the  board to "only sign in if they had not been present before," many did not sign in. There were 29 individuals who were present in total. 

  • Margy stated that the Kaleidoscope representative zoom call would be closed to the public despite questions being presented within reason including asking about credentials/training protocol for the adults leading the program with the students, follow up for students who attend to help them sort through the information, sharing details what was covered, and supporting parents who would like to be supportive of their child/learn more. Margy also added that the board was not intentionally answering questions but had to delay due to the book sale in August and the board meeting being at Put-in-Bay for September. The zoom call would not be scheduled until October's board meeting. 

  • Greg Fox did make statements related to the previous meeting minutes. However, he commented on the lack of transparancy with the Board Meeting Minutes as they are not posted in a timely manor nor do they include enough details for community members or patrons to know what is occurring with concerns of others attending the Board Meeting. He requested that the meeting minutes be updated to include more details from the summer meetings and was denied on the spot. 

  • Lori Kiser's comments were misquoted as well. She actually stated that the positive comments regarding Kaleidoscope came from outside of the Ida Rupp service area. She requested that the meeting minutes reflect that the majority of concerns were raised by patrons within the service area and that these concerns were not included in the meeting minutes for the summer meeting minutes. 

  • Wendy Worley's comments were not correctly quoted. She had commented on the meeting minutes lacking any information regarding the Kaleidoscope group as she went through meeting minutes through 2017.  Wendy also noted that the library calendar had no mention of having Kaleidoscope in the past aside from April 10, 2023. She mentioned all the other programs (Kid's story hour, crafts, etc.) in the records are very detailed in the meeting minutes with the number of attendees, feedback, and more. However, Kaleidoscope was not in the records at all. 

  • Toni Deluca was partially misquoted in the minute minutes. She actually petitioned for Margy's background in psychology and knowing the importance of working with students and their families. She did ask about the credentials and training protocol for the adults leading the program with the students and especially wondered who or how students would be followed up with after covering this information. Toni also asked if Margy would be able to supply any information to add voters related to the Library Levy Renewal. Margy stated "people can vote however they wanted." 

  • Barb Collins did address the board referencing Ohio Revision Code (ORC) but she also covered more then just ORC. Barb was cut off partially through by Margy to clarify something she had stated and before Barb could answer, Margy said her time was up. Audience members stated that she should be able to finish so she was able to do so. Barb stated the American Library Association (ALA), Library Bylaws, Ohio Revision Code (ORC), and statistics regarding minors (17 and under) being exposed to sexually explicit or graphic words or pictures which often leads to pornography addictions and relationship issues later in life according to pediatric doctors and psychologists. (Facts from: http://www.ypacenter.com/ ) Letter she submitted is stated to be included, but is not included.

  • Kathy Smith did leave a package containing copies of sexually explicit materials (found on our website under "Dirt at Ida Rupp") which were available in the juvenile section. She began by stating how much her family supports and loves the library and it’s amazing staff. The reason for speaking was due to her letters and requests for conversation being ignored since May 2023 including the recommended forms to reconsider books in the juvenile section. Kathy read 3 small portions from 3 different books available in the juvenile section. The Director of the Board cut her off at 45 seconds and stated "time" and "I have heard enough'' despite Kathy having 3 minutes to speak. Kathy requested that she finish her time and another board member mentioned how much time was remaining. Margy stated "I control the time and I know what you are doing, but go ahead." Kathy finished by listing the goals of the Consortium group which are listed under the "Goals & Petitions" tab. All of this info was submitted and it was requested by Kathy that the package in it's entirety be posted so the community could see the graphic words and pictures that are available for our juveniles. Margy said "just place it on the table." The letter read, goals of the consortium, and samples read during the meeting were excluded despite clear request made by Kathy to include them for other community members to see the issues. 

  • Below are the three teasers read from our juvenile section at the time of this meeting. (Graphics and sections from other books can be viewed under the "Dirt at Ida Rupp" tab that were included in the file.)

    1. 1. 1. “So he on me. Then he reach over to Precious! Start wif his finger between her legs. I say Car what you doing! He say shut your big ass up! This is good for her. Then he git off me, take off her Pampers and try to stick his thing in Precious. You what trip me out is it almost can go in Precious! I think she some kinda freak baby then.” (Push by Sapphire pg. 152)

          2. “I got a new strap-on harness today. I can’t wait to put it on you. I can’t wait to have your cock in my mouth - I'm going to give you the blowjob of your life. Then I want you inside of me.” (Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe - pgs. 166-167)

          3. "You told me take-ff my pajama pants, which I did. You then took off your shorts, followed by your boxers. There you stood in front of me fully erect and said, “Taste it.” At first, I laughed and refused. But then you said, “Come on, Matt, taste it. This is what other boys like us do when we like each other.” I finally listened to you. The whole time I knew it was wrong, not because I was having sexual intercourse with a guy, but that you were my family.” (All boys aren’t blue - George Johnson)