MINUTES OF
HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY BOARD MEETING
OF APRIL 26, 2000

The Hennepin County Library Board met on Wednesday, April 26, 2000, at the Golden Valley Community Library.
PRESENT: Carol Walsh, President
Jack Cole
John Gibbs
Patricia Izek
David Pratt
LIBRARY STAFF ATTENDING: C.Brown, D.Cramer, J.Leick, N.Perron, C.DeGraff, S.Charles, M.Gillespie, C. Muchow, J.Morgan, A.Eccles, R.Byrne, M.Turner, E.Feinberg, A.Wiley, V.Oeljen, L.Larsen, S.Louis, M.Bell, C.Ahrens & B.Berg
GUESTS: S.Berman, D.Mueller

This is an excerpt. The full minutes can be read at:

NEW BUSINESS

Missing Bibliographic Records/Books:

C. Brown presented background on the current situation -- In January some trade media reported that works authored by Sanford Berman had been removed from HCL and bibliographic records were purged. At the same time HCL received a request for information from MLA Intellectual Freedom chair. This was the first notification to HCL of the missing materials and records; in checking, some of the materials were not found on the shelf. HCL undertook an internal investigation to try to discover what might have happened; however there are so many access points and individuals who know how to weed items from the data base, it may be impossible to identify an individual. Steps that have now been taken: changes to some of the protocols to limit individual access, when Dynix is replaced next year there will be more controls to bibliographic records. The new assistant manager in CAB may have some background to assist with limiting access. Records have been restored and HCL is working to replace the missing materials.

Sanford Berman was present and requested to address the Library Board with specific questions.

1) Has HCL responded to inquiries from Minnesota Library Association and
Minnesota Coalition Against Censorship relating to the complaints filed with each organization?

2) Has HCL informed the HCL staff of what has happened?

3) S. Berman submitted four requests to C.Brown and N.Perron:

 --an accounting with numbers of what titles were found, how many copies, and where.
 --a formal condemnation of what he termed a detestable and deliberate act of censorship or bibliocide
 --a vigorous attempt to identify and then discipline whoever may have been responsible for this
 --initiatives to prevent the recurrence of what he termed an intellectual freedom travesty in future.

S.Berman requested that the Library Board direct the Library Administration to act on the four matters that he has requested they act upon.

President Walsh requested that the details of the four Berman requests be included in minutes for Library Board review.