91´«Ã½

Herb (L) and Mary (R) Biblo at 91´«Ã½ Midwinter in Boston, 2010. Image courtesy of Al Kagan.

Herb Biblo was not only a mentor to me but also a very close friend, as is his wife Mary. I always look forward to 91´«Ã½ meetings, not only for the satisfaction of doing progressive work, but also for the solidarity and friendship with people who have like values and solid integrity. In that context it was always a pleasure to see Herb, a stalwart who always encouraged me and everyone else to keep pushing for more social justice in our profession and in the world at-large. No one had a deeper sense of justice than Herb.

Herb was born in Brooklyn, started college at the City College of New York (CUNY), and then went into the army in 1943. His army service in several European countries opened his eyes to the wider world. On his return, he went to school full-time at CUNY under the GI Bill. He heard that there were jobs in Indiana, and for a short time he became a steelworker there, while campaigning for Henry Wallace of the Progressive Party for President in the 1948 election. He met his future wife Mary in that campaign. They could not get married in Indiana due to the state's miscegenation laws, so they married in Chicago, and ending up moving there. He became a fifth-grade teacher and took library school classes at the University of Chicago. He eventually became a high school librarian. Meanwhile, Mary also went to library school. He went on to work at the John Crerar Library, an important public library in Chicago. Eventually, he found a job at a little public library in Suffolk County, New York, which was a member of the Long Island Library Resources Council (LILRC). Eventually he worked his way up to become LILRC's Executive Director. He retired after thirty-five years only at the end of 2017. Along the way, he served as President of the Nassau County Library Association, won its 2000 LDA [Publishers] Award for Excellence in Library Achievement, and received the Library Trustees Association of New York State Distinguished Service Award in 2010.

Herb was also a great storyteller and he seemed to know everyone involved in 91´«Ã½ governance from the late 1960s onward. He participated in the momentous and revolutionary 1969 91´«Ã½ conference in Atlantic City, which turned 91´«Ã½ upside down and began a process for the thorough democratization of the organization and the adoption of social responsibilities as a core value. Eric Moon called that conference "...probably the greatest convention in library history, anytime." This was the year SRRT was founded and immediately became 91´«Ã½'s largest round table with 1050 charter members. SRRT immediately established four task forces: On Reorganization of 91´«Ã½, Community Participation, Intellectual Freedom, and "To Evaluate the Reprinting of Literature and Media on the Negro."

Having an enjoyable dinner with Herb and Mary was often like getting a social history of 91´«Ã½. Herb worked in SRRT right up almost to the present. Herb was elected to the 91´«Ã½ Council from 1977 to 1989, 1992 to 1996, and 1999-2002. This included his term as 91´«Ã½ Treasurer from 1980 to 1984, a time when 91´«Ã½ had one of its most progressive Executive Boards. Five of the twelve members of the Board were SRRT activists. During that time Herb worked to save the threatened 91´«Ã½ Office of Library Outreach Services (OLOS) and the 91´«Ã½ Office of Research. One story from that period is how the Executive Board prevented 91´«Ã½ Executive Director Bob Wedgeworth from travelling to South Africa and breaking the international boycott against the apartheid state. According to the struggle guidelines, people were only supposed to travel there to interact with progressive organizations to aid the liberation movement.

Mary Biblo (L), author Al Kagan (Center), and Herb Biblo (R) at IFLA in Durban, South Africa, 2007. Image courtesy of Al Kagan.

Herb and Mary also worked with a small group to try to make IFLA as progressive as possible over many years. He and I were active in the IFLA Social Responsibilities Discussion Group. I especially remember the 1985 IFLA resolution to exclude apartheid institutions from membership in IFLA, and all the international delegations (including E. J. Josey) to succeeding IFLA Presidents to try to implement that resolution. Unfortunately, the IFLA officials came up with one delaying tactic after the other. Eventually, the question was moot because South Africa finally had its first democratic elections. In IFLA, we also worked together against censorship in Turkey and in Israel and the Occupied Territories, mass surveillance laws worldwide, and in defending Cuba against US government funded disinformation campaigns. Herb, Mary and I also had fascinating and fun times on six IFLA tours together in India, China, Thailand, Scotland, Germany, and Argentina.

I am afraid that my own passions have dominated this essay. Herb was involved in all sorts of issues, apartheid in South Africa being only one, although quite a dominant one for many years. For example, Mary and Herb were the motivators behind the 91´«Ã½ Council's successful 2012 resolution against voter suppression. Herb was always telling us to organize, that we had to find ways to elect more progressive people to the 91´«Ã½ Council. Herb was interested in winning our resolutions to change 91´«Ã½ policies, not just voicing our concerns. In that sense, he was more pragmatic than many of us who thought it more important to voice our moral indignation than to actually win the votes. He advocated that SRRT activists should work in many other 91´«Ã½ venues to not only influence those bodies but also to gain recognition from various constituencies in order to get elected to 91´«Ã½ Council.

Herb and Mary almost never missed an 91´«Ã½ meeting. I should have realized the importance of Herb's telephone call when he told me they had cancelled their trip to the 2018 Denver Midwinter meeting. But he said they would definitely be in New Orleans. How sad that this was not to happen. Herb will be sorely missed.

Al Kagan

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Media Review: Homeless at the End

Reviewed by Julie Winkelstein, SRRT Newsletter Co-Editor

Homeless at the End, Original air date: November 13, 2017 on KUED; Length: 57 minutes, 16 seconds. Available to watch at:

Synopsis from KUED website:

"A riveting portrayal chronicling death with dignity at a unique, homeless hospice facility that profoundly transforms the lives of the homeless residents and their caregivers. The film follows one man in particular, James Adams, through his final journey at the INN Between after his diagnosis with cancer. The film paints a touching portrait of the relationships he forms."

Review:

As the narrator tells us, "'The INN Between' is the first hospice for the homeless of its kind in the United States."

This moving film uses interviews, videos, observations and statistics to tell the story of a unique hospice in Salt Lake City, Utah. It opens with the annual "Homeless Persons Memorial" where a crowd of people hold candles and listen as the names of those who have died are read aloud. The documentary moves on to offer statistics on death and homelessness, while showing heart-wrenching shots of people, some covered in snow, lying on sidewalks and other places not designed for sleeping. As we watch one scene after another, the narrator tells us: "The average age of death for those without shelter is 51."

We are introduced to Kim Correa, the executive director, who describes the INN Between as: "A place to live, a place that they can call home at the end of life, a place where they feel safe, where they feel comfortable, and where they feel loved."

We also meet resident Jim Adams, who leads us to his room which he describes by saying: "It's small -- it's perfect. It's perfect for me." He talks about being on the streets and never having thought of dying there -- he thought somehow that part of his life would pass. But it didn't.

Deborah Thorpe, one of the two women who started the INN Between, describes it this way: "We wanted the homeless to have the same kind of care anyone else can have in their own home. So we're first and foremost a home."

Another person highlighted in the film is Ed Snoddy, from Volunteers of America, who does Homeless Medical Outreach. His comments are thoughtful and kind, and it is inspirational to watch him stop by to do a health check on one man who has set up his tent in a remote location. Unlike the stereotypes of homelessness frequently perpetuated in news outlets, books and movies and by housed people, Ed Snoddy offers insights, as well as respect. He serves as a good model for library staff and others who are apprehensive about interacting with people who do not have a safe and reliable place to sleep at night. When talking about the lives of the people he sees, he notes: "People die prematurely -- just lack of care, lack of being in a proper environment."

And that's what this film is about -- care and caring, in a safe, loving and supportive environment. As Kim Correa says, "We become their surrogate family, we become their support system.... And that's what the INN Between is all about. That's what a dignified end of life means to us."

The film follows one person in particular, Jim Adams, as he copes with his impending death from cancer. But there are also short pieces about others who are living at the INN Between -- some there for short stays, others on hospice care. 50 volunteers provide a range of services and interactions from jewelry selections to haircuts to music, as well as street outreach medical volunteers. Each story provides more insight into the challenges of living unstably and the ways in which attention can be paid in a loving and respectful way.

Every library staff person who has interacted with community members who are experiencing homelessness should watch this film. A community screening of the film, paired with a panel of health workers, social workers and those who are currently experiencing homelessness or who have experiences to share, could go a long way toward changing societal attitudes about homelessness and the members of our communities who are experiencing it. Highly recommended!

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Media Review: Latinnovating: Green American Jobs and the Latinos Creating Them

Reviewed by Fred Stoss, Librarian, SUNY University at Buffalo, SRRT Member

Latinnovating: Green American Jobs and the Latinos Creating Them. 2011. Graciela Tiscareño-Sato. Hayward, CA: Gracefully Global Group, LLC. ISBN 978-0-9834760-9. 212 p. $17.99. See:

Recent years of strong and harsh treatment of immigrants and the carry-over to the descendants of immigrants by an entire political party's ideology provide a need for robust discussion. Latinnovating gives us a look at kinder years of giving praise, recognition, and respect to the entrepreneurial spirit of people of Latino and Hispanic culture and heritage. Author Tiscareño-Sato presents, as the body of her book, profiles of ten individuals who demonstrate important leadership and attention to significant works around a wide variety of issues and settings: industrial printing waste, reducing energy consumption, and stimulating local ultra-small green businesses.

I, however, much prefer the use of the word "smart," rather than "small," when describing a new generation of energy or environmental designs, products, or initiatives--it makes arguing the affirmative much easy when describing things that are "smart," in contrast to the status quo. Profiles also address solar energy for public schools, fashion accessories from rags, sustainable packing, utilizing the talent and innovation of students not at the far-right side of the bell-shaped curve for creating start-ups in engineering, developing green ("smart") software, social justice in planning and buildings, and energy storage. Libraries (public and academic in particular) will benefit from this book, if it is not already in their collections. Our colleagues in REFORMA and EMIERT will definitely find this a great addition, as would college and university offices of career services.

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Media Review: Love Is Love: A Comic Book Anthology to Benefit the Survivors of the Orlando Pulse Shooting

Reviewed by Fred Stoss, Librarian, SUNY University at Buffalo, SRRT Member

Love is Love: A Comic Book Anthology to Benefit the Survivors of the Orlando Pulse Shooting. 2016. Patty Jenkins and Elsa Charretier. San Diego, CA: IDW Publishing. 9781631409394. 14 p., $9.99. See:

On June 12, 2016, 49 lives were lost in a mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Within minutes news of the carnage spread. Minutes grew into hours, and hours into days as the horror, shock, grief, mourning, and rage built over another senseless act of gun violence in America. Within hours of the massacre, members of the comics community collectively began contacting one another saying, "We must do something." That something is this book, in which the comic book industry joined hands, minds, and talents to find a means to express their condolences and to honor those killed. It is perfectly described on the back cover text, which explains that "writers and artists from across the globe have created exclusive new material expressing their sorrow, compassion, frustration, and hope, all inspired by the tragic events. In so doing, they celebrate the victims, survivors and their families while also spreading a message of peace and inclusion." This book carries with it incredible emotional content, reflecting the events and the creators' reactions and extrapolations to other instances of peace and reconciliation for the good of humanity. This is a needed selection for public and academic libraries, and I am certain that librarians carrying an entrenched sense of social responsibilities, justice, and inclusion will want their own copy.

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Zines Review: Black Women & Self Care: Thoughts on Mental Health, Oppression & Healing and Black Women & Self-Defense: Thoughts on Personal Space & Reclaiming Our Streets by Naomi Moyer

Reviewed by Madeline Veitch, Research, Metadata, & Zine Library at SUNY New Paltz; incoming Reviews Editor

Zines are low-tech, DIY mini-books that can include political essays, personal narratives, instructional how-tos, and more. Authors typically retain full control of the writing, publishing, and printing process, and often sell their zines at a low cost to maximize accessibility. This model, in which the author speaks directly to the reader unimpeded by editors and marketing departments, creates a space for author and reader to forge connections around lived experience, solidarity, and support.

Two recent zines from Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist and author Naomi Moyer do just that. In Black Women & Self Care: Thoughts on Mental Health, Oppression & Healing and Black Women & Self-Defense: Thoughts on Personal Space & Reclaiming Our Streets, Moyer speaks about the everyday physical and emotional threats of living in a white supremacist culture, naming and describing their dimensions and also providing practical strategies for self-care, staying safe, and reclaiming space.

Both zines are broken up into individual chapters that begin with dictionary definitions of terms (depression, PTSD, white supremacy, self-defense) and move into richer histories and personal reflection that speak to experiences that may be shared by many Black women. Finally, Moyer goes deeper into dimensions of oppression and racism, offering strategies for countering or managing particular threats.

For example, in Black Women & Self Care, the chapter "Surviving White Supremacy" discusses the intersectional experience of Black women facing a white supremacist culture that is also patriarchal, misogynistic, and homophobic. Moyer goes on to discuss the importance of identifying and building safe zones, decolonizing the mind, and offers strategies for reacting to racism in ways that call it out and also honor one's own need for safety. Black Women & Self Care also provides recipes for healing and supportive tonics and practical strategies for expressing anger as an act of self-care -- both with others, and through activities that can be undertaken solo, like movement, creative expression, and letter-writing.

In Black Women & Self Defense, Moyer focuses on the social and societal violence Black women face on the street, explaining that "the approach I take with self- defense in this zine is not enough to tackle the complexities involved behind systemic anti Black racism and oppression." (p.2). Instead she focuses on staying safe in the face of aggressions that range from looks and body language to acts of verbal and physical violence. She addresses topics like catcalling, responding to threats when children are present, and the various intersectional dimensions of trauma that impact energy, awareness, and specific impacts of street harassment.

Both of these zines are beautifully written, intertwining the personal, historical, and pragmatic in thin stapled volumes that are affordable additions to your library's collection. Don't have a zine library yet? Think about starting one!

Note: At the moment, both of these zines are in high demand and hard to get copies of -- but they are worth trying to track down. Zines often go out of print quickly, which means less overlap in holdings between collections. Try or check back on the in a few weeks. While you're there, look at what other zines might be available right now!

Interested in reviewing? Be in touch!

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Voice From the Past: From SRRT Newsletter #29, January 1974

A few points seem appropriate here on "editorial policy." First, we print nearly everything we get, only altering texts for reasons of format or readability. Second, the new Clearinghouse decided at Vegas in '73 to let one person remain editor for a trial period of perhaps a year, rather than rotating editors as in the past. The object: to achieve greater consistency and continuity in appearance and content. Third, a concensus has emerged among Task Force and affiliate people, in particular, that the newsletter should run more "hard" material and contact-information, saving space--if necessary--by reducing the amount of graphics. Accordingly, issue #28 carried no pictures, tho we trust most readers found the layout--if not jazzy--at least attractive enough and, most important, serviceable. (Realistically, we could never genuinely view with Booklegger or WLB on a strictly visual plane. So the considerable outlay on printing and mailing seems more wisely invested in a product that directly and broadly serves SRRT members in a way that no other vehicle does. In short, we're not competing in a "fashion show" and don't expect an H.W. Wilson Award, but we are dedicated to meeting SRRTers' information needs as quickly, digestibly, and comprehensively as possible.) Fourth, with everyone's active cooperation, the newsletter can become an even better catalyst than before and assume some new, potentially valuable tasks: like publishing fuller documentation on key events and issues than the orthodox library press (we've already done it, for instance, re the Starr-appointment, Wheeler-suit, Ontario college librarians' struggle, and Black Caucus censure), noting relevant "things to get" that other-wise might pass unnoted in the literature, extending coverage to include pertinent developments in Canada and overseas, establishing fruitful links with like-minded persons and groups elsewhere in A.L.A., other professions, and the "real world," and providing an uninhibited forum for ideas, complaints, plans, and dreams. Incidentally, this issue should have appeared before the 91´«Ã½ Midwinter meeting, but difficulties in securing enough paper, coupled with Action Council inaction (meaning no pre-Midwinter SRRT schedule nor AC news), made that impossible. In future, we'll try to meet deadlines promptly, guaranteeing at least six solid issues a year. Amen.

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Call for Additional Editorial Board Members

Are you looking for a way to be more involved in the Social Responsibilities Round Table? Are you passionate about books, media and their role in social responsibility? Do you have excellent writing and editing skills? Are you good at meeting deadlines and encouraging others to meet them as well? If so, membership to the SRRT Newsletter Editorial Board might be just the volunteer position you're looking for!

We are in need of two members who can serve on the Editorial Board as soon as possible.

Editorial Board memberships positions are determined by the SRRT Action Council.

If you are interested in becoming members of the SRRT Editorial Board, please send a copy of your resume/CV, a brief letter of inquiry outlining your qualifications and interest in the position, and a writing sample and/or examples of previous work to Melissa Cardenas-Dow, SRRT editorial board member, at micd.srrt.newsletter [at] gmail.com.

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Call for Submissions

The SRRT Newsletter is always looking for good articles, essays and letters to the editors. The next submission deadline is August 31, 2018.

The SRRT Newsletter invites submissions from library and information workers, students, educators, and all others who recognize the critical importance of libraries in addressing community and social issues. Submission content should align with the goals of SRRT: matters of social responsibility and values, current social needs, and opportunities and problems as they relate to libraries, library workers, or the communities they serve.

Please send your submissions electronically in one of the following formats: MS Word, RTF, PDF, or plain text pasted into the body of an e-mail. Submissions should be 500 to 1,000 words. Graphics are encouraged. If using images that are already on the Internet, the URL of the image and a caption or description may be added to the text of the submission.

Please send original submissions and inquiries to SRRT Newsletter Co-Editor Julie Winkelstein, jwinkels [at] utk.edu, indicating "SRRT Newsletter" within the subject line of your email. A confirmation of receipt will be sent in a timely manner.

Submissions to SRRT Newsletter Reviews

Submissions for book or media reviews should be sent to Melissa Cardenas-Dow, micd.srrt.newsletter [at] gmail.com, SRRT Newsletter Co-Editor, indicating "Reviews" in the subject line of your email.

Submissions should be sent electronically in MS-Word format or a Word compatible format. Reviewers should keep their reviews to 300-500 words; any length much shorter or longer should be discussed with the co-editor prior to submission. Reviewers should avoid conflicts of interest. Full disclosure should be made to the co-editor when appropriate.

Submissions to SRRT Newsletter Letters to the Editors

The Newsletter invites readers to submit letters to the editors relating to social responsibilities and libraries. The letters should be respectful and thoughtful, either respond to specific content in the newsletter or include suggestions for topics of interest to SRRT members to be addressed in future issues. We will only publish letters of more than 200 words in exceptional circumstances.

Letters may be edited for length, grammar, and accuracy. You will be notified if your letter will to be published.

Submit your letters to Michael Gorman, member of the SRRT Newsletter Editorial Board, at michaelg [at] mail.fresnostate.edu. You may submit your letter as an attachment in one of these formats: .doc, docx; or in the body of your email message.

Letters must include your full name, address, a telephone number and email address if you have one. This is for us only -- we don't share this information.

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Publication Information

SRRT Newsletter is published quarterly by the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the 91´«Ã½. ISSN: 0749-1670. Copyright © 2018 by the Social Responsibilities Round Table. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without permission.

Co-Editor: Melissa I. Cardenas-Dow, micd.srrt.newsletter [at] gmail.com.

Co-Editor: Julie Winkelstein, jwinkels [at] utk.edu.

Editorial Board Members: Michael Gorman, Laura Koltutsky, and Rebecca Martin

Views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of 91´«Ã½/SRRT. The editors reserve the right to edit submitted material as necessary or as whimsy strikes.

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