Invisible Ink - Vol. 12
As our earlier email stated, yes, we know we checked out a bit, and thank you for your patience and continuing to show up for your communities. I hope you can understand why we have been quieter in this space – things are moving at breakneck speed and it doesn’t seem to be letting up. We aim to show up with intention and impact, and lately it’s hard to keep up in any intentional way with a newsletter. But we have been thinking about you, our entire Idaho library community and beyond. We show up in ways we can muster and we still contact our reps, local and national, and share library stories with them.
So why did we emerge now? While we’ve been quiet here, we have not been silent. We know how important local community is and how impactful local elections are. So…library trustee elections are coming up! Thank you to all who responded to the election form. Here is what we have learned.
Inky News (IMLS/ ICfL edition)
News that might be hard to hear, but we hope you choose to read:
Idaho Legislature’s budget committee approves half of funding proposed for digital library grants (3/20/25)
FAQ: Executive Order Targeting IMLS (5/2/25)
Idaho library commission retains federal funding, for now (4/29/25)
R.I. District Court Holds Motion Hearing on Fate of IMLS (4/21/25)
Judge Grants IMLS a Temporary Reprieve in ‘ALA v. Sonderling’ (5/2/25)
Idaho now has a powerful mini-legislature within its official Legislature (4/8/25)
Cases to watch:
ALA v. Sonderling (CourtListener)
State of Rhode Island v. Trump (CourtListener)
Election Ink, AKA Bubble Ink!
Fill in those very important bubbles!
Election is on May 20, with early voting May 5 - May 16. Absentee ballot applications are due by 5pm on May 9.
Kootenai County/Community Library Network, May 20
Michele Lippert who has trustee experience.
“Michele Lippert is endorsed by D.A.R.T. (Democrats and Republicans Together) and Save Our Libraries, both of which favor adequate library funding and oppose Idaho's recent harsh censorship laws.”
Meridian Library District, May 20
Jeff Kohler and Garrett Castle
Kohler, incumbent, has seen the library through many struggles such as the petition to close. “He truly has the best intentions for the library and everyone in the meridian community in mind.”
While some respondents stated that they do not know much about Castle, they do know Kohler is supporting him, and the alternatives are Liberty Dogs - an ultra conservative group that petitioned to dissolve Meridian Library.
The League of Women Voters will be hosting a candidate forum for Meridian Library District candidates at the Meridian Library, 1326 W. Cherry Lane, on Wednesday, May 7, from 6-7:30pm.
The conservative candidates are the same constituents that petitioned to dissolve the Meridian Library District.
Snake River School Community Library, May 20
“Natalie Raymond and Sydnee Smith-Hale are long time library supporters and incumbents with valuable experience.”
South Bannock Library District, May 20
Linda Brim has “a long history with the library and has our new library's best interests at heart.”
Ada Community Library, May 20
Johnathon Baldauf; Travis Worwood – “There are 6 candidates running for 2 four-year seats. These are the only two we want for our library district… They were speakers at the "Hands Off" rally at the capitol. They do not believe in book bannings or censorship and they will be very vocal about it if our board tries to ban books again.”
Stanley Community Public Library District: Uncontested, so no election May 20th.
Donnelly Public Library District
“We need a visionary who wants to put in work to help the building project progress. No one submitted to run. We will need to appoint.”
Keep an eye on the language candidates use in their promotional materials! As library folks we know information, and misinformation, are crucial things to wade through. Reading up on candidates can illustrate their true opinions about libraries.
For example, in perusing a website promoting two candidates for one library district (Ada), we noticed some interesting choices in the words they used.
First, these candidates emphatically believe that there is no such thing as “book banning,” and in fact whenever they hear someone use that “inflammatory” term, they “can properly conclude that the person is uninformed.” This feels like a red flag to those of us who work in libraries and are keenly aware of attempts to ban books and comes across as an outright dismissal of valid concerns. Additionally, this denial of the existence of book banning is something we’ve seen in other anti-library candidates, so look out for it.
Additionally, they decided not to include the full text of Idaho’s “Harmful to Minors” statute due to the “detailed and descriptive use of sexual terms.” Red flag.
Next, the website consistently uses the term “stockholder” instead of “stakeholder” in reference to library patrons, which is very odd. Red flag.
And finally, there is no indication on the website of who made it or who paid for it. Big red flag.
ILA support
ILA has two online “stores” you can purchase from, and all proceeds go to support the non-profit organization. Right now this is especially important because it funds ILA’s lobbyist. Designs have been created by Idaho library workers and donated to ILA to raise funds.
ILA Bonfire - for shirts, sweaters, tote bags, and hats
ILA RedBubble - for notebooks, magnets, mugs, pillows, hats, tote bags, mouse pads, etc.