Land of the Free

Here's a story that got my attention. This is all to familiar. It is like the story from a few weeks back where an upscale private pool had rented time for some inner city club to use its pool, but when the private club members complained about all those "black kids" the club cancelled the rental.

This story from BoingBoing is similar:

Rich NY town tries to shut down children's library because poor kids might use it

by Cory Doctorow

Marilyn sez, "The East Hampton Library on Long Island wants to add a children's room, but the East Hampton Village Zoning Board has blocked it for a year, even though the money for the expansion ($4 mil) has been already been raised by private donations. What's their objection to a children's room at the library?"

Library Director Dennis Fabiszak has said that the East Hampton Village Board of Zoning Appeals has expressed concern that an expanded children's collection would lead to more library usage by those who live in the less affluent areas of Springs and Wainscott...

The proposed 6,800-square-foot addition to a community that includes Martha Stewart, Rudolph Giuliani, and Katie Couric as summer residents would enable the library to add 10,000 additional children's books to the library's collection. Last year, the Long Island library ranked last for books available per child...

The library serves not only the Village of East Hampton but also the less affluent communities of Springs and Wainscott.

Library Expansion in Posh NY Hood Goes On