There is high drama at the Oak Park Public Library (OPPL). The institution known primarily as a place where local citizens can peruse books, newspapers and magazines, or do their homework, seems to be evolving into something else.
By the directive of the library trustees, OPPL has become an institution dedicated to the elimination of racism, through their equity and anti-racism effort. The equity and anti-racism web page and its action plan outline the comprehensive effort.
The problem is that these web pages are written in an incomprehensible woke-speak that requires the non-cognoscenti to consult a glossy of terms to understand what they are trying to say. Any transgression or deviation from “the mission” by any member of the staff will certainly trigger major corrective action from an OPPL rapid-response team.
Fast forward to this past January when a “Palestinian Cultural Event” was held at the main branch of our library. This event, and its tumultuous aftermath, have been well-documented in Wednesday Journal. Internal factions of the library staff and their external supporters have slung accusations of racism and insensitivity toward head librarian Joslyn Bowling Dixon (who is Black) on how she handled the situation. Well, the mob prevailed and the trustees fired her. An unattributed quote from Wednesday Journal says: “Dixon [they said,] was trying to position the library as a place for books only — an outmoded practice — and away from the community hub Oak Park’s library strives to be.”
Books, schmooks!
So here we are. OPPL has a dysfunctional board that has produced acrimonious chaos among the ranks within our library system. Moreover, they have demoted the role of our public library’s traditional function as a respite of (quiet and peaceful) reading and scholarship in favor of its being a “community hub” for political and social change of a very prescribed type. Dissenting views are not invited.
Our library board consists of seven trustees, four of whom are up for re-election or replacement in 2025. Those who would like to see OPPL return to its more traditional role should examine the candidates’ statements closely and vote accordingly.
Mark Knickelbein
Oak Park