 I just wanted to make a little, a few comments about what's been going on with our public libraries this year and why I think out of many years, Band Books Week is so special this year. I think as many of you are aware, they've been a couple of hot topics in library land this year, the first of which is internet filtering. And you may know that the Supreme Court upheld federal legislation that requires public libraries to install internet filters if they want to receive federal subsidies for communication costs. So that was a difficult decision, one that I think was not unexpected by the Supreme Court, particularly given the makeup of the court. But how does that affect us here in San Francisco? San Francisco provides unfiltered internet access. We're very proactive in the way we provide that. We have focused websites for children's, teens, adults, all kinds of subject websites. But our library commission has not considered filtering and we're not anticipating doing that. Now just a little bit of history for those of you who may not be familiar, when the internet filtering bill called the Children's Internet Protection Act, CEPA, when that was first passed by the Feds about two years ago, at that time, Supervisor Mark Leno was very, very concerned about that issue and he sponsored legislation that ultimately was adopted by the Board of Supervisors that prohibited us from filtering adult or teen computers. So even if under some reason in the world we had considered that, we couldn't do that here in San Francisco and I think that's a good statement on the part of the Board of Supervisors about their determination that filters are really inadequate and they want the citizens here to be provided with full access to information. So even though by not installing the filters we are losing some of our federal subsidy, we feel that that's an important way to move forward. So in a way we think that this Ban Books Week celebration also celebrates the fact that we are continuing to pride all of you with unfiltered access to the internet. Thanks. Now another hot topic this year and I think libraries have really had a year of quite a bit of visibility is the USA Patriot Act. Now the Patriot, yeah that's right. Some of you may have been with us when we had a great, several months ago we had a great town hall meeting here with Representative Bernie Sanders, independent from Vermont who has sponsored legislation to revise the Patriot Act and take out the sections that pertain to libraries and bookstores. And since we were with Representative Sanders several months ago he's really made a lot of progress in that vein and it's very interesting, many of his independent liberal progressive caucus of course is backing him but also the extremely conservative elements of the Republican Party and other conservative folks who really don't want anybody involved in their business at all are coming together to support this issue. So we strongly hope that we will see some legislation revising the Patriot Act coming out of Washington and of course the Library Commission here and the Board of Supervisors has taken a firm stand against the Patriot Act and in a way the Patriot Act is the opposite of Band Books Week. We want to keep your information in regard to what you read and what you look at and the internet sites you visit at the library to be completely private. That's really your business and nobody else's and of course the Patriot Act would allow the FBI to come in virtually on very, very limited evidence and obtain all those records. So something that we've done here at the library to be as proactive as possible is we have done something that we call a privacy audit and we have reviewed all our records and we have to keep records of course for business purposes and to track who has what book out and to get overdue notices sent but we are keeping as little information as possible only what we need to just keep our library business here going from day to day because we feel strongly that if we don't have a record when we're asked for it we can't provide it. So that's the approach we're taking. And you know I think many people have lots of questions about the internet and you know I think of course we saw at 9-11 that in fact some of the individuals involved in that had been using the internet in Florida and a public library and were identified as such by the librarian and in that case the librarian of course didn't turn over any records but she did talk with the authorities and eventually they did assist in that matter and of course the library assists if we think there's any kind of a situation where someone is participating in illegal acts and that does sometimes happen here but generally when you're using the internet here with our system that we adopted about a year ago where you sign on the internet yourself and with an online system when you're done with your session here the memory of the internet as to what sites you visited is completely wiped out so we really couldn't provide that information to the authorities if they needed it and you know I think books are very important as to what people are thinking and doing but often the FBI seems to target the internet so we're doing the best we can to protect your privacy and we think that's a very important element in Band Books Week because we're here to protect you your rights as a reader and your right to read whatever you want to read and that's what Band Books Week is all about so we appreciate your coming tonight. The handout that we have the program is really interesting and there's some highlighted books on there that have been banned over the years it's amazing to see those titles. I pulled up a list of the 100 most frequently challenged books since 1990, this is from the American Library Association on their website and just a couple of the titles that are amazing to me of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak which is just a lovely children's book which I read to my children many times. The Stupid's by Harry Allard which is just really the funniest kids book series I've ever known. It's really great to kill a mockingbird. I think most everyone knows that has been banned and it may be in the class of the selection I'm gonna be reading from the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn some of these classics that represent a time in America that we may not think is politically correct but still it was a time that we all experienced. Flowers for Algernon is another one, Harry Potter. Now, we find a number of books are people are concerned about them because they seem to relate to witchcraft and demonology and that kind of thing but boy, when you look at what Harry Potter has done for reading in America all ages are reading Harry Potter. So I just, it's a great book and it's hard for me to imagine it's on the list. Finally just a couple. I don't know what this one is about. I can't imagine mommy laid an egg. So I don't know what the story was. And the last one, some of you who may have young children might be familiar with this, Where's Waldo? I cannot imagine what is up with Where's Waldo where you're trying to find Waldo in the poster but anyway. Well I chose to read from the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because it's just amazing to me that this classic book could really be considered to be banned and has been suggested to be banned in some jurisdictions and I should just mention that I've been working here at the San Francisco Public Library for five years. We've had a history of almost over 123, 24 years. I'm sure we have had challenge books but we haven't had one recently and we do have a process in place to re-examine a book if it is challenged but I think our community is quite tolerant and we don't normally see a lot of challenges but in some communities the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was problematic and I think it's because of a couple factors in just scanning through, I read this book many years ago and I scanned through it recently preparing for this discussion. Of course we see a depiction of life in America when slavery was a completely accepted situation and I think that may have been grounds for concern and also of course the language in here is very colloquial and the N word is used in this book and in fact I think I might touch on it and one of my selections I'm gonna be reading but I think that's the reason and I just thought I'd highlight a couple of passages that I think someone might have been concerned about. Now I'm just gonna tell you a little bit. Initially there was a rumor of course at the beginning of the book that the young gentleman Huck, the kind of rapist young guy, had been killed although that wasn't true and the slave in the home that he was staying with and had friendships with Jim had run off so let me just give you a little bit of that story and this is from Jim's point of view. Well you see it is this way. Oh Mrs. That's Miss Watson. She pecks on me all the time and treats me poody rough but she always said she wouldn't sell me down to Orleans but I noticed there was a nigger trade around to place considerable lately and I began to get uneasy. Well one night I creeped into poody late and Dede who weren't quite shit and I hear old Mrs. tell the widow she's going to sell me to Orleans and she didn't want to but she could get $800 for me and it is such a big stack of money she couldn't resist. The widow she tried to get her to say she wouldn't do it but I never waited to hear the rest. I lit out mighty quick I tell you. I took out and shunned down to hill inspect to steal a skift long to shore somewhere's above the town but day was people are stirring yet so I hid in the old tumble down Cooper shop on the bank to wait for everybody to go away. Well I was there all night there was somebody around all the time long about six in the morning skiffs begin to go by about eight or nine every skift that went long was talking about how yo pap came over to the town and say he's killed. These last skiffs was full of ladies and gentlemen and going over for deceit to place sometimes they'd pull up at the show and take a rest before they start across so by the talk I got to know all about the killing I was powerful sorry you killed Huck but I ain't no more now. I laid there under the shavings all day I was hungry but I weren't feared because I know it all misses and the widow was going to start to the camp meeting right out of breakfast. So be gone all day and they knows I goes off with the cattle about daylight so they wouldn't spec to see me around to place and so they wouldn't miss me till art of dark into evening. The other servants wouldn't miss me because they'd shun out take holiday as soon as the old folks was out and away. Well when it came dark I took up the river road and went about two mile or more to what they weren't no houses. I made up my mind about what I was going to do. You see if I keep on trying to get away a foot the dogs would track me. If I stole a skiff to cross over they'd to miss that skiff you see and they'd know about where I'd to land on the other side and what to pick up my tracks. So I says a raft is what I order. It's don't make no tracks. I see a lighter coming round to point by me. So I weighed in and shoveled a log ahead of me and swim more and halfway across the river and getting monks to driftwood and keep my head down low and can just swim again to current till the raft come along. Then I swum to stern of it and I took a hold it. It clouded up and it's a pretty dark for a little while so I clump up and laid down onto planks. The man was all way yonder into middle what the lantern was. The river was a rising and day was a good current so I reckoned at before in the morning I'd be 25 mile down the river and then I'd slip in just before daylight and swim ashore even take to the woods onto Illinois side. But I didn't have no luck. When we as Moes down to head at Island the man began to come aft with the lantern. I see it weren't no use for the weight so I slid overboard and struck out for the island. Well I had a notion I could land Moes anyways but I couldn't bank to bluff. I as Moes to their foot into Island before I got a good place. I went into the woods and judged I wouldn't fool with rafts no more long as they moved a lantern around so. I had my pipe and a plug and dog leg and some matches in my cap and they weren't wet so I was all right. So then they went on to have many many adventures as you know and of course Jim became aware that Huck wasn't dead and that was a big story but the friendship between Huck and Jim was really amazing and I think that reality of a friendship between a young white boy and a slave was something that was very foreign to people at the time and might have been one of the concerns with this book. But I really think it shows the friendship between these two was really amazing and I'm just gonna read one other portion because as they developed the friendship Huck in a way was trying to educate Jim about the history of life that Huck was aware of and of course Huck wasn't as educated as his friend Tom Sawyer who came along later and the other thing that was interesting in this relationship between Huck and Jim was that at the time it was very improper for Huck to be assisting a slave in any kind of a situation of getting away. So Huck was very worried about that but ultimately I think he realized that friendship was more important than what society might have thought but Huck was telling Jim about history of kings and dukes and other things like that and this is how that conversation went. Yes says I who was Huck and other times when things is dull they fuss with the parliament and if everybody don't go just so he wax their heads off but mostly they hang around the harem. Round a witch the harem what's the harem? The place where he keeps his wives don't you know about the harem Solomon had one he had about a million wives. Why yes that's so I done forgot it. A harem's a Bowden house I reckon most likely they has rackety times in the nursery and I reckon the wives quarrels considerable and that increased the racket yet they say Solomon the wisest man did ever live I don't take no stock in that because why would a wise man want to live in the midst of such a blamin' all the time no deed he wouldn't. A wise man had taken Bill a bill of factory and then he could shut down the bill of factory when he want to rest. Well but he was the wisest man anyway because the widow she told me so her own self Huck said I don't care what the widow say he want no wise man another he had summer dad fetishes ways I ever see does you know about that child that he's going to chop in two? Yes the widow told me all about that. Well then warrant that the beating this notion into world you just take and look at it a minute dies to stump that's one or the woman hey you that's the other one I saw Solomon and dish your dollar bills to child Biff you and claims it what does that do does I shin around amongst the neighbors and find out which and do you belong to and hand it over to the right one all safe and sound do what to anybody that had any gumption would do no I take and whack the bill in two and give half of it to you and the other half to the other woman that's the way Solomon was going to do with the child now I want to ask you what's the user that half a bill can't buy nothing with it and what is use of half a child wouldn't give a darn for a million of them but hang it Jim you miss you clean miss the point blame it you missed it a thousand mile who me go long don't talk to me about your points I reckon I know sense what I see is it and they ain't no sense in such doings as that dispute won't buy half a child dispute was about a whole child and demand that think he can settle a dispute about a whole child would half a child don't know enough to come in out of the rain don't talk to me about Solomon hook I knows him by the back well I tell you you don't get the point blame the point I reckon I knows what I knows in mind you to real point is down further it's down deeper it lays into way Solomon was raised you take a man that's got only one or two children it's that man going to be wasteful of children no he ain't he can't afford it he knows how to value them but you take a man that's got about five million children run around a house and it's different he is soon chop a chill and a child into is a cat there's plenty more a child or two more less won't know can second consequence to Solomon that fact him and Huck says I never see such a nigger if he got a notion in his head once there weren't no getting it out again he was the most down on Solomon of having of any nigger I'd ever see so I went to talking about other kings and I let Solomon slide so so you can see they had a unique relationship thank you very much