Metropolis library

They adhere to the Library Bill of Rights, a set of policies long promoted by the American Library Association to prevent censorship.A 15-foot Superman statue at the center of town in Metropolis. (Bryan Birks for NBC News)Many longtime residents were stunned when these national fissures erupted in Metropolis, a quirky, conservative city of about 6,000 people that has a reputation for welcoming outsiders.Because of its shared name with the fictional city from DC Comics, Metropolis has for the past half century marketed itself as “Superman's hometown.” Tens of thousands of tourists stop off Interstate 24 each year to pose beneath a 15-foot Superman statue at the center of town, to attend the summertime Superman Celebration, or to browse one of the world’s largest collections of Superman paraphernalia at the Super Museum.“Where heroes and history meet on the shores of the majestic Ohio River,” the visitor’s bureau beckons, “Metropolis offers the best small-town America has to offer.”But lately, the pages of the Metropolis Planet — yes, even the masthead of the local newspaper pays homage to Clark Kent — have been filled with strife.Unlike in comic books and the Bible, the fight in Metropolis doesn’t break along simple ideological lines. Virtually everyone on either side of the conflict identifies as a Christian, and most folks here vote Republican. The real divide is between residents who believe the public library should adhere to their personal religious convictions, and those who argue that it should instead reflect a wide range of ideas and identities.Metropolis Public Library (Bryan Birks for NBC News)During his sermon in January and in the months since, Anderson has cast his congregation and their God as righteous defenders of Metropolis — and the Library Bill of Rights and its supporters as forces of evil.If Christians didn’t take a stand, Anderson warned, there would soon be an entire children’s section at the library “dedicated to sexual immorality and perversion.” And before long, he said, the town would be hosting “story hour with some guy that thinks he’s a girl.”Anderson, who is also a member of the Metropolis City Council, then asked

Library board member — was stunned. The library, he responded, should be “accepting and tolerant” of everyone’s views.Loverin, a practicing Lutheran and retired child therapist, had moved from California to Metropolis with his husband five years earlier after falling in love with the town’s eccentric charm.He especially enjoyed spending time at the small library, housed in a red-brick building constructed in 1915 with seed money from the steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie. These days, the library’s budget runs around $350,000, funded by city taxes and revenue from a local riverfront casino. In past years, Loverin said, the Metropolis library has relied on state grants to close shortfalls or fund capital improvements.“I don’t think,” he said, “we need to be in a position where we throw public funds away.”Ford Loverin in his home. (Bryan Birks for NBC News)In the end, James and Loverin joined four other members in voting 6-2 to adopt the updated Library Bill of Rights.As she headed to her car afterward, James held tight to her library binder. Inside, she carried a resignation letter that she’d planned to present to the board that night.The owner of a local day spa, James had been feeling run down after spending much of her free time that year caring for her elderly mother, who’d entered the final stages of multiple sclerosis. She had decided she no longer had the time or energy to continue serving on the board.But after seeing the backlash brewing, James decided to keep the resignation letter tucked away. Later, when she told her father about her decision to stay and fight, James said he laughed.“You’re like Jonah,” he said, referring to the Old Testament Bible story. “You tried to jump ship, and you got swallowed by a whale.”Anderson, the Eastland pastor and Metropolis city councilman, wasn’t appeased by the board’s assurances on drag performances.He wrote a scathing op-ed in the Metropolis Planet and preached about the library controversy nearly every weekend, warning that “Satan has made a move in our community” and that “darkness is coming after us.”The banner of the Metropolis Planet features an image of Superman.

About Halloween. Explaining the discrepancy at a public meeting, Baxter said she only removed titles that hadn’t been checked out in several years, then cited her belief in Scripture.“God said he did not give us a spirit of fear,” Baxter said, alluding to the scary themes sometimes found in Halloween books. “Why would I want to instill that on anyone?”Rosemary Baxter is the former director of the Metropolis Public Library. (WPSD)But the people now crammed inside the library weren’t there to talk about Baxter or her book selections. Instead, they said they’d come to oppose the board’s plan to adopt the Library Bill of Rights, which they believed would bring drag queen story hour to Metropolis, as Anderson had warned.“We are concerned our values may be undermined,” said Jim Duncan, a pastor speaking on behalf of an alliance of local faith leaders.James glanced around at her fellow trustees, most of whom, she said, looked as confused as she was.“Drag queens in libraries,” James told the crowd, “has never come before this board.”The Library Bill of Rights, which includes a pledge to provide reading materials representing “all points of view,” does not deal with library programming. Plus, James explained, the board had already adopted the Library Bill of Rights more than a decade ago, long before the new law that made it a requirement for state grant funding. The vote that night was merely to adopt an updated version of the policy that included an additional clause about protecting patrons’ privacy.The explanation seemed to appease at least a few residents — but not everyone.Seated alongside the board, Baxter, the library director, argued against the Library Bill of Rights. The Metropolis Public Library didn’t need state funding, she said. In fact, she’d never applied for any state grants during her tenure.“There are grants we can get,” Baxter said, “where we don’t have to barter with Satan in order to get the funding.”A mural in Metropolis commemorates the steamboat era. (Bryan Birks for NBC News)Ford Loverin, one of the trustees who’d clashed with Baxter in recent months — and the only openly gay

To work picking up the pieces.They brought on a former library employee to serve as interim director and embarked on top-to-bottom reviews of the library’s catalog and finances.“Our focus,” James said, “is making sure our library is strong and healthy and there to serve everyone.”Then, on March 19, the story of Baxter’s firing was picked up by Blaze Media, a national conservative outlet. In a column titled, “A librarian’s faithful service is silenced by a secularist takeover,” conservative talk radio host Steve Deace interviewed Baxter and Anderson and reported that both had come under fire for their Christian beliefs.Deace presented the local saga as a warning that evil forces were now coming for small-town America and blamed the problems in Metropolis, in part, on “a California transplant who is living with another man,” referring to Loverin, the library board member.Three days later, Metropolis Mayor Don Canada — who in 2021 had appointed Anderson, his pastor, to an open seat on the City Council — took a stand of his own.In letters addressed to James and two other board members, Canada announced that he’d “lost faith in the Board in its current state.” As a result, he was removing James and two others who’d voted to terminate Baxter.Metropolis Mayor Don Canada. (City of Metropolis)Canada declined to be interviewed, writing in an email, “I have no comment on the Library or the Library board.” In an interview with Deace, Canada said he removed the members because “we need a fresh start.”The mayor’s decision shocked some residents and drew a rebuke from Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, a Democrat who also serves as the state librarian.“Retaliating against local library trustees, who are dedicated to serving their community and assisting children in learning, is unacceptable,” Giannoulias wrote.The mayor’s action was not only controversial; it also appeared to be improper.At a City Council meeting three days later, a local lawyer who previously served as a Metropolis city attorney explained that, under Illinois law, the mayor cannot unilaterally remove political appointees. He is required to level charges against board members he wants removed and seek

Orchestral Tools has announced the release of Metropolis Ark Ø, a library that harkens back to the original concept for the Metropolis Ark series. It’s available now to purchase at an introductory price of €75 (regular price €150) until December 1st, 2022. The Sine Player is required. More details from Orchestral Tools below. Nothing beats the epic power and expressive beauty of a large orchestra playing as one. Metropolis Ark Ø finally realizes this vision. It presents the prototype orchestra—the original idea that gave birth to the now iconic Metropolis Ark series. Designed for simplicity, these big sections sound truly monumental. Metropolis Ark Ø offers a fast, fun way to compose dramatic and highly emotional orchestral music. Monumental sound requires the right space. Metropolis Ark Ø captures the playing of top-flight session musicians, in situ, on the renowned Teldex Scoring Stage in Berlin. Immediately access a balanced, expertly orchestrated sound that is perfect for film scores, trailers, video games, and more. Multiple mic positions let you shape the sound as you like. When composing, speed is often essential. Sometimes you just need to create a quick sketch of an idea. And sometimes you just want to blast an entire orchestra from your keyboard all at once. This is what Metropolis Ark Ø is designed for. For more information, please visit Orchestral Tools.

METROPOLIS, Ill. — The pastor began his sermon with a warning.Satan was winning territory across America, and now he was coming for their small town on the banks of the Ohio River in southern Illinois.“Evil is moving and motivated,” Brian Anderson told his congregation at Eastland Life Church on the evening of Jan. 13. “And the church is asleep.”But there was still time to fight back, Anderson said. He called on the God-fearing people of Metropolis to meet the enemy where Satan was planning his assault: at their town’s library.A public meeting was scheduled there that Tuesday, and Christians needed to make their voices heard. Otherwise, Anderson said, the library would soon resemble a scene “straight out of Sodom and Gomorrah.”Pastor Brian Anderson calls of members of his congregation to show up at the library meeting. (Eastland Life Church via YouTube)The pastor’s call to action three months ago helped ignite a bitter fight that some locals have described as “a battle for the soul” of Metropolis.The dispute has pitted the city’s mayor, a member of Eastland Life Church, against his own library board of trustees. It led to the abrupt dismissal of the library director, who accused the board of punishing her for her faith. And last month, it drew scrutiny from the state’s Democratic secretary of state, who said the events in Metropolis “should frighten and insult all Americans who believe in the freedom of speech and in our democracy.”Similar conflicts have rocked towns and suburbs across the country, as some conservatives — convinced that Democrats want to sexualize and indoctrinate children — have sought to purge libraries of books featuring LGBTQ characters and storylines. Republican state legislatures have taken up a wave of bills making it easier to remove books and threatening librarians with criminal charges if they allow minors to access titles that include depictions of sex.To counter this movement, Illinois Democrats last year adopted the first state law in the nation aimed at preventing book bans— which ended up feeding the unrest in Metropolis. Under the law, public libraries can receive state grant funding only if