SRRT (Social Responsibilities Round Table)

Statement of Protest to SRRT Membership

As a member of the SRRT Action Council, representing the International Responsibilities Task Force, I feel compelled to speak out about a disturbing episode at the recent ALA Annual Conference in Philadelphia-one that profoundly undermines the democratic and activist principles SRRT has long claimed to uphold.

At issue was a resolution addressing the intensifying repression of campus protests in solidarity with Palestine-a matter of urgent importance, and one squarely within SRRT's historical commitment to international justice and the defense of intellectual freedom. The resolution, originally authored by SRRT member Elaine Harger, was co-opted and significantly diluted by our SRRT Councilor, who asserted that her version required vetting by other ALA committees before it could even be considered for presentation to ALA Council.

At the Action Council meeting during the Philadelphia conference, she informed us that, based on limited feedback, she was unilaterally withdrawing the resolution. In effect, the original political focus on Palestine and student protest had been buried by process and obfuscation.

In response, my colleagues and I presented a revised version of the publicly available draft-restoring some of its clarity and urgency-and asked that it be considered by Action Council. We were told this was "her" resolution, that it had been withdrawn, and that we had no right to circulate or amend it. Our revised draft-clearly distinguished and independently authored-was blocked from distribution by both the SRRT Councilor and the Coordinator. Shockingly, a member of ALA staff, inexplicably present in the meeting, physically prevented the circulation of printed copies. This simple act of distributing a revised draft was mischaracterized as "bullying" and "threatening"-a slanderous reversal intended to suppress dissent and chill political speech within the very body once known as the "conscience of ALA."

At the start of the second Action Council meeting, I was subjected to a formal, public reprimand-accused of misconduct, denounced in a demeaning and humiliating manner, and effectively silenced before I could present a second, entirely new resolution regarding Gaza and the illegal bombing of Iran. Deeply shaken by this experience, I left the meeting.

Six others followed me in protest, including one who disconnected in solidarity via Zoom. Among those who walked out were two SRRT members who had received the Herb Biblo Memorial Award, both senior members of SRRT-one a former SRRT Coordinator, another a long-serving representative to ALA Council. All of us were older members-veterans of decades of social justice advocacy within SRRT. Also walking out in protest were two of the youngest participants present: both students in library programs, both members of Librarians and Archivists with Palestine (LAP). Their solidarity was especially moving.

I urge SRRT members to reflect seriously on what this moment represents. When resolutions concerning Palestine and U.S. complicity in war and repression are not only diluted but forcibly removed from discussion-when even revised drafts are blocked, and their advocates publicly humiliated-we must ask whether SRRT is still fulfilling its founding purpose.

There is still time to reclaim that purpose. But doing so will require a recommitment to democratic process, principled internationalism, and the right to speak hard, necessary truths.

In solidarity,

Mark Charles Rosenzweig

SRRT Action Council Member

Statement of Protest to SRRT Membership

As a member of the SRRT Action Council, representing the International Responsibilities Task Force, I feel compelled to speak out about a disturbing episode at the recent ALA Annual Conference in Philadelphia-one that profoundly undermines the democratic and activist principles SRRT has long claimed to uphold.

At issue was a resolution addressing the intensifying repression of campus protests in solidarity with Palestine-a matter of urgent importance, and one squarely within SRRT's historical commitment to international justice and the defense of intellectual freedom. The resolution, originally authored by SRRT member Elaine Harger, was co-opted and significantly diluted by our SRRT Councilor, who asserted that her version required vetting by other ALA committees before it could even be considered for presentation to ALA Council.

At the Action Council meeting during the Philadelphia conference, she informed us that, based on limited feedback, she was unilaterally withdrawing the resolution. In effect, the original political focus on Palestine and student protest had been buried by process and obfuscation.

In response, my colleagues and I presented a revised version of the publicly available draft-restoring some of its clarity and urgency-and asked that it be considered by Action Council. We were told this was "her" resolution, that it had been withdrawn, and that we had no right to circulate or amend it. Our revised draft-clearly distinguished and independently authored-was blocked from distribution by both the SRRT Councilor and the Coordinator. Shockingly, a member of ALA staff, inexplicably present in the meeting, physically prevented the circulation of printed copies. This simple act of distributing a revised draft was mischaracterized as "bullying" and "threatening"-a slanderous reversal intended to suppress dissent and chill political speech within the very body once known as the "conscience of ALA."

At the start of the second Action Council meeting, I was subjected to a formal, public reprimand-accused of misconduct, denounced in a demeaning and humiliating manner, and effectively silenced before I could present a second, entirely new resolution regarding Gaza and the illegal bombing of Iran. Deeply shaken by this experience, I left the meeting.

Six others followed me in protest, including one who disconnected in solidarity via Zoom. Among those who walked out were two SRRT members who had received the Herb Biblo Memorial Award, both senior members of SRRT-one a former SRRT Coordinator, another a long-serving representative to ALA Council. All of us were older members-veterans of decades of social justice advocacy within SRRT. Also walking out in protest were two of the youngest participants present: both students in library programs, both members of Librarians and Archivists with Palestine (LAP). Their solidarity was especially moving.

I urge SRRT members to reflect seriously on what this moment represents. When resolutions concerning Palestine and U.S. complicity in war and repression are not only diluted but forcibly removed from discussion-when even revised drafts are blocked, and their advocates publicly humiliated-we must ask whether SRRT is still fulfilling its founding purpose.

There is still time to reclaim that purpose. But doing so will require a recommitment to democratic process, principled internationalism, and the right to speak hard, necessary truths.

In solidarity,

Mark Charles Rosenzweig

SRRT Action Council Member

Statement of Protest to SRRT Membership

As a member of the SRRT Action Council, representing the International Responsibilities Task Force, I feel compelled to speak out about a disturbing episode at the recent ALA Annual Conference in Philadelphia-one that profoundly undermines the democratic and activist principles SRRT has long claimed to uphold.

At issue was a resolution addressing the intensifying repression of campus protests in solidarity with Palestine-a matter of urgent importance, and one squarely within SRRT's historical commitment to international justice and the defense of intellectual freedom. The resolution, originally authored by SRRT member Elaine Harger, was co-opted and significantly diluted by our SRRT Councilor, who asserted that her version required vetting by other ALA committees before it could even be considered for presentation to ALA Council.

At the Action Council meeting during the Philadelphia conference, she informed us that, based on limited feedback, she was unilaterally withdrawing the resolution. In effect, the original political focus on Palestine and student protest had been buried by process and obfuscation.

In response, my colleagues and I presented a revised version of the publicly available draft-restoring some of its clarity and urgency-and asked that it be considered by Action Council. We were told this was "her" resolution, that it had been withdrawn, and that we had no right to circulate or amend it. Our revised draft-clearly distinguished and independently authored-was blocked from distribution by both the SRRT Councilor and the Coordinator. Shockingly, a member of ALA staff, inexplicably present in the meeting, physically prevented the circulation of printed copies. This simple act of distributing a revised draft was mischaracterized as "bullying" and "threatening"-a slanderous reversal intended to suppress dissent and chill political speech within the very body once known as the "conscience of ALA."

At the start of the second Action Council meeting, I was subjected to a formal, public reprimand-accused of misconduct, denounced in a demeaning and humiliating manner, and effectively silenced before I could present a second, entirely new resolution regarding Gaza and the illegal bombing of Iran. Deeply shaken by this experience, I left the meeting.

Six others followed me in protest, including one who disconnected in solidarity via Zoom. Among those who walked out were two SRRT members who had received the Herb Biblo Memorial Award, both senior members of SRRT-one a former SRRT Coordinator, another a long-serving representative to ALA Council. All of us were older members-veterans of decades of social justice advocacy within SRRT. Also walking out in protest were two of the youngest participants present: both students in library programs, both members of Librarians and Archivists with Palestine (LAP). Their solidarity was especially moving.

I urge SRRT members to reflect seriously on what this moment represents. When resolutions concerning Palestine and U.S. complicity in war and repression are not only diluted but forcibly removed from discussion-when even revised drafts are blocked, and their advocates publicly humiliated-we must ask whether SRRT is still fulfilling its founding purpose.

There is still time to reclaim that purpose. But doing so will require a recommitment to democratic process, principled internationalism, and the right to speak hard, necessary truths.

In solidarity,

Mark Charles Rosenzweig

SRRT Action Council Member

Statement of Protest to SRRT Membership

As a member of the SRRT Action Council, representing the International Responsibilities Task Force, I feel compelled to speak out about a disturbing episode at the recent ALA Annual Conference in Philadelphia-one that profoundly undermines the democratic and activist principles SRRT has long claimed to uphold.

At issue was a resolution addressing the intensifying repression of campus protests in solidarity with Palestine-a matter of urgent importance, and one squarely within SRRT's historical commitment to international justice and the defense of intellectual freedom. The resolution, originally authored by SRRT member Elaine Harger, was co-opted and significantly diluted by our SRRT Councilor, who asserted that her version required vetting by other ALA committees before it could even be considered for presentation to ALA Council.

At the Action Council meeting during the Philadelphia conference, she informed us that, based on limited feedback, she was unilaterally withdrawing the resolution. In effect, the original political focus on Palestine and student protest had been buried by process and obfuscation.

In response, my colleagues and I presented a revised version of the publicly available draft-restoring some of its clarity and urgency-and asked that it be considered by Action Council. We were told this was "her" resolution, that it had been withdrawn, and that we had no right to circulate or amend it. Our revised draft-clearly distinguished and independently authored-was blocked from distribution by both the SRRT Councilor and the Coordinator. Shockingly, a member of ALA staff, inexplicably present in the meeting, physically prevented the circulation of printed copies. This simple act of distributing a revised draft was mischaracterized as "bullying" and "threatening"-a slanderous reversal intended to suppress dissent and chill political speech within the very body once known as the "conscience of ALA."

At the start of the second Action Council meeting, I was subjected to a formal, public reprimand-accused of misconduct, denounced in a demeaning and humiliating manner, and effectively silenced before I could present a second, entirely new resolution regarding Gaza and the illegal bombing of Iran. Deeply shaken by this experience, I left the meeting.

Six others followed me in protest, including one who disconnected in solidarity via Zoom. Among those who walked out were two SRRT members who had received the Herb Biblo Memorial Award, both senior members of SRRT-one a former SRRT Coordinator, another a long-serving representative to ALA Council. All of us were older members-veterans of decades of social justice advocacy within SRRT. Also walking out in protest were two of the youngest participants present: both students in library programs, both members of Librarians and Archivists with Palestine (LAP). Their solidarity was especially moving.

I urge SRRT members to reflect seriously on what this moment represents. When resolutions concerning Palestine and U.S. complicity in war and repression are not only diluted but forcibly removed from discussion-when even revised drafts are blocked, and their advocates publicly humiliated-we must ask whether SRRT is still fulfilling its founding purpose.

There is still time to reclaim that purpose. But doing so will require a recommitment to democratic process, principled internationalism, and the right to speak hard, necessary truths.

In solidarity,

Mark Charles Rosenzweig

SRRT Action Council Member