Sturgis Library

The following is a list of the pathetic/apathetic people and organizations I contacted over the past decade regarding the permanent banning without warning/without due process of an American citizen (me!) from his neighborhood library, Sturgis Library in Barnstable, Massachusetts on Cape Cod (see  http://theamericandissident.org/orgs/sturgis_library.html).  

Organizations et al Contacted RE Sturgis Library’s Removal of My Civil Rights

-The Massachusetts State Secretary of Records (contacted by a friend, Russell Streur) forced Sturgis Library to open its records so that I could examine what was written about me (see sturgisbansdissident.blogspot.com).  

-Town Manager (argued no jurisdiction and no interest, though the former was false considering he was forced to contact the library by the State Records chief)

-Town Attorney (no jurisdiction/no interest)

-ACLUM (interested at first, contacted Sturgis, then silence, then a simple, no)

-Police Station (paid 50 cents for the police report, which does not mention precise reasons or even the duration of the trespass order)

-Barnstable Patriot (no response)

-Barnstable Enterprise (no response… and now defunct)

-Cape Cod Times (no response)

-Eleanor Claus, President of the Town Library Committee at the time (no response) 

-Ted Lowry, president of the library trustees (no response)

-American Library Association (no jurisdiction over libraries and disinterest) 

-ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (no response at first, then the new director responded and a rather lengthy back and forth proceeded [see http://wwwtheamericandissidentorg.blogspot.com/2017/04/james-larue.html])

-ALA’s Freedom to Read Foundation “Defending the First Amendment in Libraries and Beyond” (No response)

-25 library directors in the Cape Cod Clams Library System (No response)  Dan Santos, Sturgis Library trustee, responded to the directors, but not to me, and argued my argument was mere “intellectual masturbation”

-Barnstable Council of Aging (No response)

-New England First Amendment Center (Northeastern University/called me/worked on the case, then slowly disappeared) 

-PEN New England “defending freedom of expression” (No response) 

-First Amendment Center, Nashville, TN (suggested Town Attorney… who said it was out of her jurisdiction!)

-Institute for Justice—Arlington, VA (No response)

-State Senator O’Leary (presented Sturgis with a whopping check.  No response)

-State Representative Sarah Peake (also presented Sturgis with a whopping check.  No response)

-Elizabeth Hacala, Executive Manager, Massachusetts Library Association (No response)

-Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (No response)

-J. Gregory Milne, candidate delegate to the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates (No response)

-Ann Canedy, town council rep (would do nothing)

-State rep Cleon Turner (got angry, labeled me impolite, then no response) 

-State rep Brian Mannal (expressed interest, then no response)

-Massachusetts Secretary of Records (ordered the library to make public all documents with my regard, a minor victory)

-Cape Cod Poetry Review, editor John Bonanni (held a workshop at Sturgis)

-Cultural Center of Cape Cod, poetry curator Gouveia got angry because I questioned his sincerity (otherwise no response from the director)

-Massachusetts Common Cause (11/14/13)   [No response]

-Freedom House (11/18/13) [No response]

-Cape Cod Community College English instructors- one puerile, indirect response from Prof. John French “Hi Sally, I suppose I will be a target soon...LOL  I hope he brings it on while I am at 60mg of Prednisone.  John” [Pathetic non-response]

-PEW Research Center [No response]

-Center for Individual Rights [No response]

-Center for Inquiry—Campaign for Free Expression [No response]

-Cape Cod Writers Center (Dir. Nancy Rubin Stuart) [3 or 4 different times and never a response]

-Barnstable Village Civic Association [No response]

-Barnstable County Human Rights Commission (sent 12/27/13) (Zero interest)

-Library Journal (1/09/14) Irrelevant, evasive response

-Center for Civic Media, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chris Peterson, Research Assistant [No response]

-Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Church of Barnstable (3/28/14).  Apathetic response.

-Brandeis Center for Human Rights (3/30/14)  No response.  

-Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (May 2014) No response.

-National Coalition Against Censorship (June 2014) No response.  

-Banned Books Sponsors (July 2014):  NCAC, National Council of Teachers of English, American Book Sellers Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of American Publishers, Freedom to Read Foundation, National Association of College Stores, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Project Censored, and Center for the Book at the Library of Congress.  No response.

-Adam Kessel, Principal in the Boston office of Fish & Richardson (July 2014) No response.

-Dr. Nancy Dempsey, Professor and Coordinator of Criminal Justice, Cape Cod Community College, organizer of the local National Human Rights Day forum [No response]

-sunshineweek@asne.org. Requested sunshine success stories, so I sent mine.  [No response]

-NPR (Cape Cod) WCAI (Woods Hole) [No response]
-National Endowment for Democracy (No response)

—Cape Cod Art

—Cape Cod Art Center

—Cape Cod Museum of Art

—Cape Cod Today

—Cape Cod Magazine

—Cape Cod Community College

—Provincetown Arts

—Provincetown Banner

—Fine Arts Work Center of Provincetown

—Cape Cod Voices for Peace Poetry

—Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce

—FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) [Not enough resources]