I learned recently of a terrible tragedy at the Urbana Free Library, which was one of the formative institutions of my childhood. The Executive Director, Debra Lissak, authorized the removal of all books from the Adult Collection which were published after 2003. That was a mere 10 years ago. The collection of short stories by Hasan Saadat Manto, one of the most important chroniclers of partition, would have been summarily tossed. Why? Because the library didn’t own a newer edition of his work. Such decisions make me wonder if Lissak even reads books, or understands the function of a public library. I don’t think one needs a library science degree to understand that a terrible travesty has occurred here. I wrote a letter to Lissak, and if you read this and care about the UFL, I encourage you to do so as well.

I’ve also started a petition via change.org here.

The Library’s “official response” is here, and Lissak has been blaming “communication problems,” effectively blaming her staff when she should take responsibility for these acts. Her actions undermine the viability of the library and credibility of its leadership. It’s hard to be a Friend of a library whose administration is so deaf to the community it serves.

You can contact Debra Lissak, Executive Director, at 217-367-4058 or at dlissak@tufl.info. Because she is apparently disregarding the opinions of others, you may want to CC the administration of the library: dcassady@tufl.info, reference@tufl.info, lfegley@tufl.info, avoss@tufl.info, kwicks@tufl.info, foundation@tufl.info, administration@tufl.info, mfarrell@tufl.info, cscherer@tufl.info, bscheid@tufl.info, sbennett@tufl.info, aho@tufl.info, ejakobsson@tufl.info, jwilliams@tufl.info, amerritt@tufl.info, mnetter@tufl.info.

My letter to Lissak is below.
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