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Gwinnett Board Curbs Spanish-Language FictionMinutes after firing Director Jo Ann Pinder without cause at a June 12 business meeting, Gwinnett County (Ga.) Public Library trustees axed from the budget $3,000 earmarked for purchasing Spanish-language fiction. The vote was taken after Pinder, her supporters, and media reporters had left the meeting room, the Gwinnett Daily Post reported June 21.“We can’t supply pleasure reading material for all language groups, so we’re not going to go down that road,” board Chairman Lloyd Breck said. However, the library still plans to spend $12,000—out of a $22.2-million budget—for Spanish-language nonfiction. According to the June 20 Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 20% of the county’s 700,000 residents are foreign-born and some 105,000 Hispanics live in the county. Under Pinder’s direction, the library in February had resumed collecting adult Spanish-language titles after an 11-year hiatus. Director of Materials Management Mabel Anne Kincheloe told the Daily Post that some 40% of the 798 Spanish adult books are in circulation on an average day. Brett Taylor, the only member of the board who supported Pinder, was out of the meeting room consoling the newly fired director when the budget vote was taken. “The argument was we didn’t need to cater to illegal aliens,” he said. “This is a melting pot. There are a lot of people here who use other languages and pay taxes. I think we have a responsibility to serve them, too.” The Daily Post noted that the board is also considering making English the default language for the self-checkout machines and eliminating a prompt that asks patrons to choose between English and Spanish. Posted June 23, 2006. |
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