The Occupy Wall Street Library Regrows in Manhattan
What remains of the Occupy Wall Street Library, as of the morning of November 16. Photo courtesy of the People’s Library blog
PrintBy Christian Zabriskie
[For UPDATE, scroll down to end.] The People’s Library at Occupy Wall Street was destroyed in the early morning hours of November 15. Without warning or provocation hundreds of militarized New York police officers cleared the park starting at 1 a.m. The library was torn down in the dark of night and its books, laptops, archives, and support materials were thrown into dumpsters by armed police and city sanitation workers. Numerous library staff were arrested, and, in one case, a librarian strapped the notebooks of original poetry from the library’s poetry readings to her body before lending aid to comrades who had been pepper-sprayed.
Prior to its destruction, the library had reached new levels of growth with laptops, a Wi-Fi hub, and a tent donated by author and rock legend Patti Smith and dubbed “Fort Patti.” The library also had thousands of circulating volumes. Library staff rightfully prided themselves on their collection, the entirety of which was donated by private citizens and corporations for the general public good. The collection included the holy books of every faith, books reflecting the entire political spectrum, and works for all ages on a huge range of topics. These were thrown into dumpsters amidst tents, tables, blankets, and anything else on the Zuccotti Park site.
Library staff were assured that they would be able to recover their materials from a city sanitation depot. Indeed, the firestorm of public hue and cry that followed the clearing of the park, the destruction of the library was the only aspect of the action to which the city directly responded. However, when library staff attempted to collect the library’s property on the morning of November 16, they found the laptops smashed, much of the collection missing, and many of the books that were recovered damaged beyond recovery. The damage to the library’s archives of zines, writings, art, and original works is devastating and irreparable.
Protesters were allowed back into Zuccotti Park less than 24 hours after they were cleared out, following a variety of legal decisions. The library was immediately restarted with a half a dozen paperbacks. Within two hours the collection was up to over 100 volumes and the library was fully functioning—cataloging, lending, and providing reference services. “The library is still open” was repeated like a mantra. “This is why I became a librarian, this is why I went to library school,” Library Working Group member Zachary Loeb said of the rebuilding. He was also quick to point out that, while he had helped to build and maintain the collection knowing full well that the park would probably be cleared eventually, the manner in which it was done hit him hard.
Tents and tarps are strictly forbidden in Zuccotti Park now. During the reoccupation on the evening of November 15, it started to rain so library staff put a clear plastic trash bag over the collection. Within minutes a detail of about 10 police descended and demanded that the covering be removed because they deemed the garbage bag to be a tarp. There were a few tense minutes as staff tried to convince them otherwise, but ultimately it was removed—leaving the collection open to the elements. As the police withdrew, scores of people chanted “BOOKS … BOOKS … BOOKS … BOOKS.” There was still concern that the park might be cleared again that night, and one officer made it clear that “unclaimed property will be removed and disposed of” in reference to the collection. Library staff quickly set up umbrellas over the bulk of the books and began sending librarians home with bags of books to keep the collection safe in remote locations.
Nonetheless, the library remains open.
Zuccotti Park looks very different now. The various stations for food, information, comfort, first aid, and the like had created a village atmosphere. Now all of that has been cleared away, the park is practically just another sterile stretch of stone in the city. “You can clear the tents but you cannot clear the people” has become a new OWS slogan. Within hours of the park reopening, and despite strict access and security protocols, more than 1,000 people were there for the first General Assembly and their claps and shouts echoed off the skyscrapers around the site.
Amidst it all, there was also a functioning library, a small one under fire, but a library just the same. While the future of the Wall Street occupation is unclear, these protesters still believe in what libraries offer everyone. For these activists “The library is open” has become a battle cry.
CHRISTIAN ZABRISKIE is the founder of Urban Librarians Unite and coauthor of Grassroots Library Advocacy: A Special Report (ALA Editions, 2012).
Ed. note: Late Wednesday morning, the Occupy movement launched Occupy Educated, explaining the action as “an emergency response to the destruction of the library at Occupy Wall Street, a clear attempt to destroy the education of passionate people who are tired of living in a deeply flawed system. Razing libraries and burning books has historically failed every time; this will be the most colossal failure to repress education in history, because the education will not be centralized.”
UPDATE, Nov. 17: According to the People’s Library blog, last night New York sanitation workers confiscated the approximately 100 books that comprised the newly started library collection after police cordoned off the space in which the books were being made available. Numerous media have filed reports, with some links are available here. #owslibrary
Additionally, the American Library Association has issued a statement about the books’ disposal.
American Libraries, Wed, 11/16/2011 - 13:05
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Comments
OccupyBoston Moved Its Library; Contrast OWSLibrary
Further showing the OWS Library sunk its own case by failing to plan for and remove the “library,” the OccupyBoston librarians planned for and removed its “library”: http://hacklibschool.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/hacklibschool-on-occupy-wa…
As an actual librarian, if
As an actual librarian, if you set up this junk on my sidewalk or park, I’ll gladly throw it in a dumpster.
Another view
another view:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-november-16-2011/occupy-wall-stree…
Why Are Librarians and the ALA Defending OWS?
Why are Librarians and the American Library Association defending and sympathizing with the Occupy Wall Street [OWS] mob? The numerous interviews I have watched and listened to of these “rebels without a clue” clearly demonstrated that they were a mob with no redeeming qualities. Their rabid, unrelenting, and unintelligent (not to mention unintelligible) diatribes against capitalism revealed their complete lack of understanding of economic reality or personal responsibility. As one of my Library Science Professors wisely pointed out “the definition of ‘free’ is someone else pays for it”. And the OWS mob wants their food, clothing, education, electronic devices, birth control, medical treatment for the sexually transmitted diseases [e.g. scabies] acquired during the occupation, housing, etc… all to be ‘free’. And if they do not get what they want they will throw a tantrum and try to shut down Wall Street and the subways in New York City. Did I mention that they had no redeeming qualities?
Capitalism and the wealth and innovation it generates fostered the creation of many of the electronic devices and the Internet the OWS mob uses to promote their whiny narcissistic worldview. Capitalism created the wealth needed for Americans to have the means to pay for the many local Public Libraries we have today. Capitalism created the wealth needed for people to not only afford to buy books but also to afford an education that taught them how to read. Capitalism created the wealth that fostered the first printing press and the numerous printing houses that make books today. And many of the incredibly rich people in this nation [and others I am sure] contribute their wealth in numerous philanthropic causes. Ever hear of a man named Carnegie? How about Bill Gates?
With all this in mind I ask again WHY IS THE ALA SYMPATHIZING WITH THE OWS MOB? Why are you glorifying a pack of whiny narcissists? And why did someone set up a “peoples library” for these idiots when the New York Public Library has branches all over Manhattan?
I would greatly appreciate an intelligent and honest answer.
library
I’ll attempt to answer you in a way so you won’t call me any ugly names…the gifts of the books were exactly that, gifts from supporters and sympathizers.naturally they were free(follow me so far?)freely given and paid for by their admirers and sympathizers.didn’t cost you an admirer of capitalism a dime. the disrespect shown for the property of others is ironic since one of the sacred ideas of Capitalism is that private property ,anybodies ,everybodys’ sacred and is essentially an extension of the owner . would you destroy someones private property simply due your disagreeing with their Ideas? Still with me?The ALA is an organization that supports the 1st amendment and the free circulation of ideas that are contained in these books,zines ,laptops,journals and tapes….do you support the 1st amendment? I’ll stop here.
OWS
Once those “donated” books entered the park, they became garbage. Who wants to handle anything in an atmosphere of e.coli and TB germs?
AGAIN: Why are Librarians and the ALA defending OWS?
My compliments on your [debs bleicher, 11/21] reply to my 11/18 posting. Pointing out that the books, etc… were gifts is a good point. The protection of and respect for private property angle was likewise good. Regarding the 1st Amendment I would submit that nothing about this so called Occupy Wall Street (OWS) “protest” has a damned thing to do with the 1st Amendment. And as to the “ugly names” I apparently used I would point out that what I wrote was very much the sugar coated version of my description of the motley collection of lunatics at Zuccotti Park.
But you still did not answer my primary question: “Why are Librarians and the ALA supporting OWS”?
RESPECT FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY:
OWS occupied a park that is private property in violation of the park rules and turned it into a disgusting mess. While squatting in privately owned Zuccotti Park the occupiers have harassed local businesses and even threatened the employees and shop owners, created so much noise at night that local residents have had difficulty sleeping, engaged in serious drug use [one New Yorker reported that the Marijuana smoke was so thick he felt stoned after just walking by the park], defecated and urinated in both public areas [including a police car] and on other nearby private property creating a health hazard, destroyed a bathroom in one business [damages over $1,000], and refused to assist police investigating the rapes and other sexual assaults that were conducted by OWS members against OWS members. The occupiers have also recently harassed school children and their parents walking to school. To sum up the OWS crowd have camped out on private property without permission and against park rules and proceeded to negatively impact other private property in the area while harassing the people who live and work there.
Is any of this behavior by the OWS crowd something that should be supported by Librarians and the ALA?
1st AMENDMENT:
The absolutely essential freedom to speak, write, or otherwise communicate one’s thoughts, beliefs, and feelings without prior restraint is always worth defending. I have no wish to deny this right even to those whose beliefs, thoughts, feelings make my blood boil. If I did wish to deny this right to others I am sure that I would have been on the news by now. But that is not the case. Nor is it the case of the many New Yorkers who are also outraged by OWS.
We respect the rights of our fellow citizens and others. We New Yorkers also have the ability to communicate effectively without the use of bongo drums [harsh language is always an option though].
The OWS members have spoken long and loudly and incoherently [I have heard conspiracy theories ranging from Zionist bankers to unscrupulous grocery stores being the root of all our problems, and numerous variations on the theme that rich people should pay for everything for everybody] for two months. They have enjoyed worldwide media attention and plenty of air time on local news outlets. Their varied messages have been heard [even if they are not understood] by millions. But unlike many others in years past who stood on their boxes in the public square speaking their beliefs to passerby, the OWS mob never went home at end of the day. The occupiers could have easily protested for the past two months quite peaceably and then gone home each night to get a good nights sleep [local residents would have had a decent nights sleep as well]. They would have been rested and refreshed for the next days protest. And perhaps that rest would have helped them to develop an intelligent and coherent message for the American people. Alas no.
Instead they squatted on private property and made noise all night long [apparently the bongo drums were particularly hated by locals] thus making each night miserable for local residents. I fail to see how banging on a bongo drum at 2:00 AM communicates anything other than a complete lack of respect for one’s neighbors and poor taste in musical instruments [I have always hated the bongo drum - too sixties]. It might also speak to the negative effects that regular drug use has on the brain.
Again, is this the sort of behavior [or messages] that Librarians and the ALA should support?
“DESTRUCTION” OF THE “PEOPLES LIBRARY” [When did Librarians start to love Marxist labels?]:
It was only a matter of time before the cops were finally given the green light to forcibly remove the occupiers from Zuccotti Park. And bearing that in mind the Librarians should have planned accordingly. It is a shame if anything of value was destroyed [laptops, zines, original art, etc…] but that is the risk when you set up shop in a mob scene like OWS. With an OWS bank account of more than $500,000 at last report I am sure that many items can easily be replaced.
CONCLUSION:
The Occupy Wall Street members have shown no respect for private property, no respect for local residents and businesses, no respect for their own members [e.g. rape victims], no respect for the law or law enforcement officers, and no respect for the intelligence of New Yorkers. The varied and often incoherent messages of the “protesters” show a complete lack of intelligence and critical thought, and reflect a total disconnect with reality. OWS members also exhibit a narcissism that is shocking [see PubMed Health ‘Narcissistic Personality Disorder’]. There is nothing of any substantive value in the Occupy Wall Street movement that should earn it the approval of or active support by Librarians and the ALA.
I welcome any intelligent criticism of my above remarks.
The People's Library of Occupy Wall Street Lives Online!
Yes our People’s Library is under attack and down, but not out. Luckily there is another People’s Library book that is still very much alive on our website: http://www.nycga.net/groups/peoples-library/docs/ Now that our physical library is down we rely increasingly on our Online People’s Library as a resource to activists not only in Zucotti park but across the nation and world. Spiritus Mundi, the Occupy Wall Street Novel by Robert Sheppard continues to be serialized, issuing a chapter a week through the People’s Library on the Occupy Wall Street/New York General Assembly People’s Library website: http://www.nycga.net/groups/peoples-library/docs/chapters-6-8-of-spiritus-mundi-novel-by-robert-sheppard-the-occupy-wall-street-novel-free-online-for-the-comrades-in-the-streets See also: http://occupywallstreetnovel.wordpress.com/ For Introduction and Overview of the Novel: https://spiritusmundinovel.wordpress.com/ The novel follows characters involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement in Zucotti Park, including their campaign for creation of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, a world-scale global assembly based on the model of the European Union Parliament and a threatened World War III and nuclear terrorism in Jerusalem.
Admission Against Interest
This Am Lib article contains a major admission against interest that sinks the ALA’s false claims about any book “seizure.” Basically, the “librarian” says people knew the library would be removed eventually. So when warned to vacate the park for a clean up, no one took the library? It was simply abandoned. That’s not the City’s fault. I have written extensively about it here: “Occupied ALA Ignored Cuban Librarians; OWSLibrary is Not a Real Library and People Knew It Would Be Removed” http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2011/11/occupied-ala-ignored-cuban-lib…
Warned? The library wasn’t
Warned? The library wasn’t abandoned; there was no warning before the authorities swooped in and started their attack.
Keep Your Eye On The Big Picture
Hey people - the point is, our freedoms and fundamental support is quick disappearing at the hands of controlling corrupt interests at the top posts in banking, corporate and government. Whether you agree with lifestyle or tactics of occupy=ers- please wake up to the need to dis-empower those who currently hold it and recognize kinder, cleaner people to replace them. Let’s give a bit of support to Occupy-ers for being on the front line. At least their focus is on the Big Problem we are in - let’s respond. Join Avaz. Vote out the insincere, don’t buy from or invest in destructive producers, refuse to be pushed around in everyday interactions with major service providers and anyone else presumptuous about their right to overlook your right to dignity.
Backing up the harassment of Occupy-ers, while no-one is responding to their point will bite you in the ass soon!
The point is you don’t have
The point is you don’t have the freedom to tresspass and set up unsanitary dangerous camps wherever you feel like it.
Video: NYPD Keep Out OWS Library on Wheels Today
11/17/2011 Police Stop Dangerous OWS Books from entering Zuccotti Park: threaten to arrest OWS librarians.
Check out this 2 minute video clip of what happened when OWS Library on wheels tried to enter Liberty Plaza/Zuccotti Park at 11:32 this morning. I witnessed and filmed.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Mikontexte
http://youtu.be/hzki9EpixTg
Occupy Libraries
The library at Occupy Oakland is gone, but people are talking about putting up Occupy library branches at Oakland Public Library branches that have been closed. This might work in other cities too, where budgets have been slashed.
Peaceful protesters!?! They
Peaceful protesters!?! They had to make a tent for women only BECAUSE OF ALL THE RAPES GOING ON!
Defecating on police cars? Harassing walkers-by? Rampant theft? Defecating& urinating on the ground? Being so filthy that there’s now Zucotti Lung going around? Refusing to move when asked (no one has a right to squat on pulic property indefinitely so that others can’t enjoy the park!)
Gosh, you people are so embarassing to have as peers. I will no longer call myself a librarian, but an information professional. You people are NOT information professionals because you only tell the half of the story you want broadcast. Peaceful!?! Wow, you all are either really not paying attention to what’s going on, or you’re being willfully ignorant. But gosh, if you want to think rapes aren’t a big deal but throwing out some books is, well, that’s something you need to reconcile with your own selves.
Why are you the only person
Why are you the only person with this kind of information????? What are your sources, Ms. Information Professional???
I happened to be by Zucotti
I happened to be by Zucotti Park yesterday, so I headed over to take a look. There are police barricades surrounding the park with only one entrance open, with 4 or 5 cops at the entrance. On the entrance there is a sign saying what is and isn’t allowed in the park (tents, etc.) I stood there reading the sign and this one cop seemed to be getting antsy about me standing there. Maybe cops just don’t like to read? :)
New Library Destroyed
Police removed the new library last night:
http://peopleslibrary.wordpress.com/
Sanitation crews threw the books in the garbage.
"Books Up Front!"?
In place of the Vietnam era protest tactic (“Chicks up front!”) when faced by potentially violent crowd-clearing operations by the police, at OWS the tactic — at least for librarians — was “Books up front!”?
A bit biased
I am sorry, but I find this article a bit biased from all aspects. The police with warning followed proceedures. I am all for the freedom of speech and demonstartion, however I think the Occupists have gone a bit over board. There is a bit of human safety factor that is involved. Please don’t make me spell out how human safety is a factor.. Open your eyes.
I am wondering, what types of books are available in the Occupy street Library? do they really need a library? Are there books on the classics? religion?
Anyway, there is a statement that all items removed from the Park is available to pick up at the Dept. of Sanitation. no items of value were thrown away in the dumpster as claimed. If they were thrown in the dumpster.. where is the pictures.
As a librarian, I am asking for the truth be represented, do your research and document the facts.
Please define what consitutes a tarp? a piece of plastic covering an item. Regardless of its thickness or how it is marketed.
Do you really want to know what ticks me off.. Is the people who live on the streets day in and day out who are robbed, rapped, and abused by passerbyers. Why is it okay to treat them like crap, and yet America needs to feel sorry for the small percentage of people who state they are representing the 99%. I am sorry, but your not representing me by the acts that the liberal news media are covering, the slew of youtub videos being posted.
Do you want to make a statement do something productive not destructive. Protesting and being squatters in a parks across the nation is not productive. The parks are being destryoed. The cost to restablish the green areas again will cost a lot of money! hmmm.. maybe the capitalist will take advantage of the protest.. Great!
Too bad that a person with a
Too bad that a person with a Masters degree, if you are a librarian, writes so poorly.
Green Area?
Zuccotti Park doesn't HAVE green areas. It's paved. It has some trees. The trees seem to be faring quite well. Zuccotti has in no way been destroyed. Pay it a visit sometime. Oh, and I saw plenty of protesters constantly walking around sweeping the ground and clearing it of trash. So… there's that. Maybe we'd see more footage of the items in the dumpsters if the police hadn't cleared the media out, arrested multiple journalists, declared a no-fly zone over the park (sending two news helicopters away), and closed down the bridge and subway lines preventing any additional journalists from reaching the site to report. I assume you're not friends with any protesters, or else you would have seen photos or watched the live feed.
bias and "liberal news media"
The minute that you used the phrase “liberal news media” you revealed your reactionary bias. I have heard Fox News refer to the the Occupy Wall Street protestors as “people protesting against big government.” So where was your complaint against “conservative news media” when that bit of B.S. was spewn over the airwaves?
Wake up and smell the hypocrosy.
not true
You stated that “as a librarian” you wanted the truth to be reported and documented. But I know a few librarians and they all have PERFECT grammar, and you do not. Thus, you are a fake/impostor librarian and we all know it. Like you care if the classics are present and if so, “where is the pictures” right?
book burning really ?
In response to this in the article:
Razing libraries and burning books has historically failed every time; this will be the most colossal failure to repress education in history, because the education will not be centralized.”
The action of the Police and City Officials were clearly a reasonable; content neutral, application of the place, time and manner exclusion to freedom of assembly/expression. To equate the actions of clearing a mass protest that happened to have a makeshift library to historical examples of coordinated book burning (Nazi Germany) and other examples of the suppression of ones freedom to read is a huge stretch.
If the OW protesters need access to a library - they should be able to adhere to the rules that are in place to ensure the park is open to all visitors. Set-up your library in the AM and take it down before dark. Otherwise I am sure the New Amsterdam branch of the NYPL would be happy to provide library service to you and all your comrades
Peaceful Protesting
First of all What procedure were the police following? What warning was given or posted to the peaceful protesters, that they were about to be raided? If so… pictures please! Don’t we have the right to peaceful protest, and the right to gather? This proves to me that our country is not a republic (and to the republic, for which it stands…), or even a “democracy” like our masters want us to believe, we now live in a military dictatorship, full-blown. It is time to exercise our right to overthrow our government and start over, because this has gone too far. They have lost the social contract, they no longer have the consent of the governed. Our public officials have become puppets of corporations, and our government run by “free choice” is simply an illusion- Our police force have become Nazis.
Thank you brother! Keep
Thank you brother! Keep telling them until they are tired of listening.
Your questions and comments
Your questions and comments were addressed in the article. Did you read it?
the library at Occupy Wall St.
LOL, you are NOT a librarian. Librarians can spell and can communicate in complete sentences; they would not be hidden behind an anonymous post either.
Nice try.
I’m sorry, do you mean
I’m sorry, do you mean research like interviews with people who were there? I was there this morning. I sent Christian multiple photos of what the books looked like. Books were destroyed. Period. It was not necessary.
45 minutes notice is not enough time to clear an encampment of that size.
If you are really a librarian, please do your own research, for example, the entire library catalog is hosted on Library Thing. Look at the photos on The People’s Library Blog. Perhaps talk to people who are actually occupying instead of just listening to the media.
(Also, FYI, the park is paved, it is not a “green area”)
#OWSLibrary
Dear a Bit Biased,
I guess I am biased too. I am Public Librarian by trade though now semi retired after 34 years in Brooklyn Public Library. I am a New Yorker.
Libraries are essential for us all—especially in this busy, stressful city of 8M+ people.
This small library outpost served people where there were —24X7. It also provided (or should I say provides) information, respite, and inspiration.
Visit the Blog of the @OWSLibrary Team
http://peopleslibrary.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/update-state-of-seized-li…
There you will a photograph of a badly damaged copy of the Holy Bible. If the OWS protesters had treated a meaningful book like this, a book that is sacred to so many (myself included) , they would have been denounced and vilified—by all and sundry. Perhaps even you Ms/Mr A Bit Biased?
I watched the removal on NY1 TV that night and followed it via a live feed on the web. It became increasingly clear that night to me that it is properly the Mayor and City of NY who deserve our outrage. And not our courageous, dedicated fellow librarians who serve this inspiring, transformative movement.
They make me proud to call myself librarian. And I thank them.
Barbara Genco
Thank you, Barbara! As an
Thank you, Barbara!
As an former autodidact reared by the Brooklyn Public Library system and current MLIS student, I second your praise of the indomitable OWS Librarians.
Who among us can say we have endured such hardships to continue providing vital public library services? As library students, we are taught that customer service is the foundation of good librarianship. The OWS Librarians continue to uphold the finest aspects of good librarianship,and have reinvigorated my love and respect for librarians and libraries in light of the reign of corporatocracies decrying our digital deaths in the cloud of “content.”
Thanks
I just wanted to say thanks to Barbara for her thoughtful response and to AL for the story.
Occupy Punches Back with OCCUPYEDUCATED.org
Within hours, we reacted to this violation by launching http://www.occupyeducated.org.
Moving forward, our library will also be online, where they can’t (??) touch it.
OWS
Shame on NYPD for treatment of new OWS library
“Tents and tarps are strictly forbidden in Zuccotti Park now. During the reoccupation on the evening of November 15, it started to rain so library staff put a clear plastic trash bag over the collection. Within minutes a detail of about 10 police descended and demanded that the covering be removed because they deemed the garbage bag to be a tarp. There were a few tense minutes as staff tried to convince them otherwise, but ultimately it was removed—leaving the collection open to the elements. As the police withdrew, scores of people chanted “BOOKS … BOOKS … BOOKS … BOOKS.” There was still concern that the park might be cleared again that night, and one officer made it clear that “unclaimed property will be removed and disposed of” in reference to the collection. Library staff quickly set up umbrellas over the bulk of the books and began sending librarians home with bags of books to keep the collection safe in remote locations.”
This is a tragedy and a scandal. Every book-loving American should be up in arms about this!
I’m reminded Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451 ) in which reading books is forbidden by the State.
Is this Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s preferred world? The NYPD deemed plastic garbage bags protecting books to be tarps (which are not allowed in the park)?
This news needs to be publicized. I will do my best to do so…
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