EDITORIAL: Librarian is gold at end of rainbow
People are paying attention to what’s happening in North Idaho politically and culturally.
Including Lemony Snicket.
OK, so Mr. Snicket is actually author Daniel Handler. And Mr. Handler is actually the person for whom a prestigious national prize is named — and the person who will endow that award on a local woman whose courage and compassion are worthy of a national standing ovation.
We’re talking of course about Denise Neujahr, the mild-mannered, bespectacled Young Adult Librarian for the Community Library Network with a spine of steel and a smile that can open doors long sealed shut.
The American Library Association has selected Neujahr for the 2023 Lemony Snicket Prize for Nobel Librarians Faced with Adversity. The association honors just one librarian in the U.S. each year who has met adversity with integrity and dignity.
In her 24-year career including the last 12 with the Community Library Network, Neujahr has focused on children, teens and young adults. Her formation of and ongoing work with the Rainbow Squad despite protests and intimidation is the central reason Neujahr is being recognized on such a large stage.
The Rainbow Squad is intended to be a harassment-free program at the library available to teens and their allies who identify with the LGBTQ+ community. Starting in December 2021, the Squad came under verbal assault from a local minister and like-minded citizens who protested the gatherings at the library, ignorant of the fact that donations, not taxpayer funds, were footing the small bill for snacks at Rainbow Squad gatherings.
But that was more an excuse than the real reason for the vehement reaction, and Neujahr, as well as the library network’s board of directors and staff, faced the adversity with integrity and resolve.
The Press joins library professionals coast to coast in saluting Neujahr, who will be honored in Chicago this summer. But we go further than that.
Like teachers, librarians serve a vital function in society through their important daily work with our children and grandchildren. Yet these most honorable of public servants have in recent years become the subjects of attacks that at times force some to make career changes.
That’s the way to erode what makes communities strong — inclusiveness and respect for all, including those who don’t live their lives as others might prescribe. Neujahr does more than understand that dynamic; she strives every day to make our community better, especially through her work with teens on a host of programs, not just Rainbow Squad.
Her national honor is a most fortunate event for all of North Idaho.