Response from Denver Mayor Hickenlooper to Congressman Tom Tancredo on Spanish language Denver Public LibrariesRead the original letter in PDF format.
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR June 22, 2005
U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo Dear Congressman Tancredo: I received your letter of June 21, 2005,with great interest. I assume you placed considerable trust in your sources before you amplified their concerns to the media. If so, this trust has been misplaced. Even though the Denver Public Library is an independent agency of the City and County of Denver, I have asked City Librarian Rick Ashton to provide me with the information related to your questions. 1. Is the Denver Public Library implementing a plan to convert very large sections of several branch libraries - ranging from 10% to 62% of book and periodical holdings - to Spanish language holdings? No, the Deliver Public Library is not implementing any plan to convert its branch libraries to Spanish language centers. According to City Librarian Rick Aston, the Library is currently conducting an active community-based inquiry, testing several ideas about styles of service. Because more than 20% of all Denver residents speak Spanish at home, the Library is interested in providing additional Spanish-language materials and service, but it is not considering any "conversion" plan along the lines suggested in your question. English is and will remain the primary language of the Denver Public library. Seven community forums about potential service styles will be conducted in the next few weeks. This Process is being guided by a 50-member Advisory Committee comprised of people from all sectors of Denver. 2. Has the Denver City Council ever debated and approved a plan to convert one or more existing library branches to "Language and Learning Centers" with predominantly Spanish language books, magazines and materials"? I cannot speak for the Denver City Council, but according to City Librarian Rick Ashton. City Council members have been informed about the Library's exploration of a variety of service styles. The Learning and Language model, one of the styles being examined, would help Spanish-speaking adults learn English, prepare for GED tests, and acquire basic computer skills. While both Denver City Council and I review and approve the Library's budget and receive exclusive information from the Library, we do not "debate and approve" operational matters. As previously explained, the Denver Public Library is an independent agency, governed by the Denver Public Library Commission, an appointed citizen board designated by the Denver City Charter since 1904 as the Iibrary's governing body. 3. Does the proposed new mill Ievy for a new library district include funds for a new branch library that will be designated a "Language and Learning Center" with Spanish language materials only? There is no proposed mill levy for a proposed library district. Given recent funding reductions caused by the economic downturn's impact on our general fund. I appointed a task Force on Future Library Funding last year to analyze various funding and governance options, including the status quo. The Task Force considered and rejected the idea of a library district. The Task Force's full report is available on the Denver Public Library's web site, www.denverlibrary.org. Again, according to the Denver Public Library, if a Learning and Language model of branch library service is implemented at any location, it would not be "Spanish only." It would he focused on helping Spanish-speaker learn English. 4. Has the Spanish-language-only concept for branch libraries ever been discussed or evaluated by the Library Commission or the City Council as a factor promoting social fragmentation, cultural balkanization and ethnic separatism? Again, there is no Spanish-language-only concept for branch libraries. According to City Librarian Rick Ashton, the medium range facilities plan for Denver Public Library contemplates three additional library branches: one in Green Valley Ranch, one in Stapleton, and one amidst service gaps in west Denver. Community interest has been expressed in fire concept of a Latino Legacy library being incorporated into the potential west Denver branch. While these community conversations are quite preliminary, they do not involve a Spanish-language-only library. Rather, they focis on the gathering of literature, manuscripts, etc. (not exclusively in Spanish) that focus on local and regional Latino history and culture. Additionally, I am not aware of any members of the Library Commission or the City Council ever using such inflammatory terns to describe any ideas or activities of the Denver Public Library, whose stated mission includes informing, educating, inspiring and entertaining members of our community through their resources, expertise, programs and facilities. In fact, our libraries -cherished by Denver residents- are viewed as community gathering places that bring people together, not drive them apart. 5. What is the basis for believing that cultural bilingual Latino patrons prefer that current English language materials he converted to Spanish-only holdings? There is no basis for such a belief, and there is no proposal to do this. 6. Since the proposed new library district is coterminous with the City of Denver, what purpose can he served besides a disguised tax increase and diminished accountability to the Mayor and City Council? Again, there is no proposed new library district. If Dienver voters are ever asked to consider additional funding for the Library, any tax implications will be clear. 7. Will the results of the public opinion lolls conducted on these issues with public monies by Ciruli Associates be made public? According to City Librarian Rick Ashton. Ciruli Associates has conducted two Polls on library funding issues. The poll results have long been available on the Library's web site as appendices to the Report of the Task Force on Future Library Funding, 8. Have the Focus Groups run by Corona Research been designed and conducted to obtain results that support the conversion plan? Have the unvarnished results of the Focus Groups (not sanitized summaries) ever been shared with the Library Commission and the public? As stated previously, there is no conversion plan as you have described. Additionally, City Librarian Rick Ashton affirms that the focus groups conducted by Corona Research were designed and conducted in an unbiased professional fashion. The full report (over 100 pages of participant comments) has been presented to the Library Commission. It is also available on the Denver Public library's web site, and paper copies are available at the information desk at the Central library and all branch libraries. Additionally, the issue of the library's focus groups and contemplated models to enhance customer service were covered in an April 11, 2005, article in the Denver Post. 9. Has the library's management announced that only library employees bilingual in Spanish - not Vietnamese, German, Korean or other languages - will be eligible for raises? If so, is this contrary to civil service rules and blatantly discriminatory on its face? According, to City librarian Rick Ashton, the Denver Public Library's management has never made any such announcement. 10. Is a Mexican Driver's License now accepted in city libraries as a valid ID for use of library facilities and services? Are driver's licenses from other nations also accepted? I am told that any person may enter the facilities of the Denver Public Library and make on-site use of Library services. To obtain a Denver Public Library card for borrowing of books, a Person must present both photo identification to verify identity and acceptable documentation to demonstrate Denver residency. Foreign drivers licenses may he used to verify identity, but they must be accompanied by proof of Denver residency. 11. Are English language books being thrown out in the trash to make room for Spanish language materials? Why are the books being thrown into the trash instead of being given to schools, nonprofit organizations, or saved for the book sales? Has the Libran Commission approved this practice? Neither English-language nor Spanish-language books are being thrown in the trash. The Library Commission has approved the following practices with regard to books no longer needed by the Library: sale to the public at branch libraries and the annual used book sale (sheduled for August 26-28, 2005); sale through the used book section of Amazon.com; donation to schools and not-for-profit organizations. Items that are in very damaged physical condition may be recycled. 12. Is DPL, assisting "undocumented" (illegal) aliens in purchasing homes through sponsorship of is worksoops for undocumented aliens in cooperation with the Colorado Housing Assistance Corporation? Does DPL make any distinction between legal and illegal residents in providing its taxpayer-funded services? The Denver Public Library does not assist anyone in purchasing homes. With the help of the Colorado Housing Assistance Corporation and Re/Max, the Library has presented several public informational workshops on home-buying. Some of these English-language workshops have been accompanied by Spanish-language translation. We regret that the federal government has not yet created the political will to reach consensus on a coherent immigration policy. We equally regret that the federal government and its Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement do not have the resources to fully secure our borders or enforce immigration law. I would be happy to support in any way that I can the securing of additional resources for these purposes. That said, the Denver Public Library is not an immigration enforcement agency. It does not have the legal authority, the resources or the expertise to determine who is or is not legally present in the United States. As I indicated in my response to Question 10 above, any person may make on-site use of Library services. I would guess that this American tradition is also observed in the public libraries located in your congressional district. For borrowing privileges, appropriate residence-establishing identification is required, in Denver as elsewhere. Please note that the Denver Public Library is an independent agency of the City and County of Denver. The eight-member Denver Public Library Commission was created in Denver's original City Charter in 1904. Section 11.1.2 of the Denver City Charter states: '-The commission shall have exclusive control of the public library, branches thereof and reading rooms, of all money appropriated therefore, of all property or money otherwise acquired for such purposes, of the acquisition by purchase, construction, or lease, of grounds and buildings for such purposes; of the administration of gifts and trusts, and power to do any and all things necessary or expedient in connection with library purposes." The Charter gives me the authority, as mayor, to appoint the members (all uncompensated) of the Library Commission, but due to their staggered terms, I have appointed only four of the eight current members since taking office two years ago. With the exception of these appointments and working with City Council to approve the Library's overall annual budget, our administration has no legal authority in establishing library policy or governing the Denver Public Library. As you know, libraries tend to be independent from direct government control so that the personal preferences, tastes or political needs of politicians do not dictate the contents they contain. The Denver Public Library appears to he working very conscientiously to enhance customer service and involve public feedback and input in those decisions. I hope the information provided in this letter relieves your concerns. It is unfortunate that your sources, in whom you must have put much faith, conveyed to you such false and erroneous information. Whether it was an innocent lack of knowledge on their part, or outright deception, it does not help you do your difficult job. I trust you will share these answers with them and any others you may have contacted to set the record straight. Should these individuals have additional concerns or questions in the future, they should feel free to contact my office, Denver City Council, or the Denver Public Library Commission directly. Sincerely,
John W. Hickenlooper Mayor Read the original letter in PDF format.
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