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This is in response to a posting regarding the librarian seeking help about "And Tango Makes Three." She wrote: "ALA will represent you, but they won't pay your mortgage or car payment or your children's medical bills." I'd like to direct everyone's attention to one of ALA's sister organizations, the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund. Headquartered at ALA, the Merritt Fund has, since 1970, helped librarians with financial assistance who have been “threatened with loss of employment or discharged because of their stand for the cause of intellectual freedom.” Unfortunately, the Merritt Fund is lacking some much-needed exposure, so I hope everyone on this list takes a moment to learn more about it, spread the word, and if so moved, to donate to the fund. If you visit the Merritt Fund's website (www.merrittfund.org) you'll see that: It is devoted to the support, maintenance, medical care, and welfare of librarians who, in the Trustees’ opinion, are: * Denied employment rights or discriminated against on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, age, disability, or place of national origin; * Denied employment rights because of defense of intellectual freedom; that is, threatened with loss of employment or discharged because of their stand for the cause of intellectual freedom, including promotion of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the freedom of librarians to select items for their collections from all the world’s written and recorded information. The Merritt Fund's secretary is OIF's director Judith Krug. Its current Trustees are Jim Kuhn, Lucille Thomas, and Martin Garner, all of whom have spent a good deal of their professional careers in defense of intellectual freedom. If you or a librarian you know has need for assistance through the Fund, they can contact the office at merrittfund@ala.org or by calling (800) 545-2433 x4226. The application for assistance is online at http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/othergroups/merrittfund/assistance/merri ttfundapplication.pdf. None of this is to say that the poster is wrong - there can be, in fact, serious consequences to standing up for what’s right. As a donor to the Merritt Fund, I know that its resources are limited, and that the Fund is nowhere nearly as large as it needs to be, given the need that exists. So I'd like to conclude by calling on other members of this list to join me in becoming a donor to the Merritt Fund. You can mail a check to the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611 or call with your credit card - again, (800) 545-2433 x4226. The Merritt Fund is a unique and often indispensable lifeline FROM librarians, TO librarians who are facing highly stressful situations. Thanks, everyone! ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html --------------------------------------------------------------------