CUSDParents4Change

04/03/2025

Please share! Important.

04/01/2025

A cloud has been hanging over our library district since the last election. Due to a very small voter turn out, our library board was overtaken by far right conservatives whose goal has been to remove equity and diversity from our libraries.
Collinsville and Fairmont City libraries have always been a sacred place of learning, open to all people regardless of race, religion or political belief.
In our cities we are seeing religious hatred in our libraries that can not be tolerated. The library is for everyone.
I encourage you to come out on April 1st and make your voice head. Every vote counts!
CUSDPARENTS4CHANGE supports
Ian J. Ashcraft Green
Shannon Lawton OBoyle and
Benjamin Wells

11/19/2024

I would like to thank everyone who came out to speak at the Collinsville Library board meeting last night! Your words inspired me. Standing up for marginalized people in our community, supporting our library staff and holding to task those who would harm our community was truly a beautiful thing.

I kicked off my pumps and got down to business. By the time I finished, Wes Paul Nicolussi and his mommy had fled the building and Lomax got the final blow in the beating she had been taking all night from you kind folks.

I'll take these shoes and do a small victory lap. The victory feels good but remember, this is only one battle. There will be more. Keep showing up, your community needs you.

Below is the speech I wrote. Due to time constraints, I had to edit on the fly.

Once again, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

I would like to begin by requesting Lomax not interrupt me as she is want to do every time I speak.

At last month’s meeting, I believe our group of library supporters fell victim to intimidation tactics led by board president Lomax.

Planted at the back of the room where speakers lined up was Chad Lomax and Wes Paul Nicolossi. To the left of the speakers was a camera set up. This camera operator was not identified as a media source, left immediately after public comment and was friendly with Lomax before the meeting. For those of you who don’t know, Chad is a local arms dealer, and in 2016 Nicolussi was terminated from his employment for a threatening message to shoot up his jobsite.

When female speakers would pass Chad and Nicolussi, they began harassing them. Chad with foul language and hateful statements. Nicolussi with sexual harassment such as winking and blowing kisses. This was a clear attempt to intimidate these women. Our supporters held decorum during the meeting, did not respond to the harassers and did their best to speak in spite of intimidation.

After hearing from 2 of the women, I began watching the pair and observed them speaking to other women. I further observed Chad Lomax rise and move to the side of the room, making a cut off motion at his wife. This makes me wonder who exactly is running this board.

After the meeting I, in my very intimidating 5ft stature confronted Chad Lomax and told him to come after me instead of the smallest lady in our group. No, I wasn’t polite. That ship sailed.

I later learned that Nicolussi became aggressive with this tiny lady because he confused her for me. Nicolussi had to be restrained by his own mother.

While waiting outside for the rest of our people, Ms Lomax passed. I told her what had happened during the meeting. Lomax responded by laughing and stated, “now you know what it is like to live here.” At that point It confirmed my belief that Lomax had set this up from the beginning. I in turn told her that Collinsville has a leash law and she needed to keep her dogs on a leash. She laughed so I barked at her as a humorous way to nail in my point. No one touched or threatened her. Yet here we are correcting the web of lies spilled by this board member based on actions that I believe were directed by her.

Lomax as an elected official, you are subject to criticism. If you need to use intimidation on those constituents who disagree with you, it is time to grow thicker skin or step down. From my perspective, your biggest achievement as board president is pretending to care about our community and Library. Your Christian nationalist values and attempts to establish your religion as a priority in our library aren’t welcome and are a direct violation of the establishment clause.

I would once again like to address the post you made stating in summary, that the only books being banned were p**nographic books in the children’s section. Our director has stated there has never been p**n in the library. You have repeatedly stated that no books have been banned. We have evidence that this was posted by you, even though you denied it. I am very confused, my question is… were you lying then or are you lying now?

10/22/2024

What an incredible disappointment Jeanne Lomax has become. In addition to not wanting to purchase flowers for a retired library employee's funeral she planted her husband and Madison County board member Paul Nicolussi at the back of the room to harass activists when they lined up to speak.
Chad Lomax twice called a lady a "fu # nut bag." Paul Nicolussi sexually harassed another woman by winking and blowing kisses at her. Absolute disgusting behavior for a Madison County board member.
After the meeting I personally confronted Chad Lomax who became big eyed like a child and couldn't speak.
I, further confronted Jeanne Lomax and reminded her that as a politician she should expect public criticism and not sic her husband on people. She laughed about his behavior, and made some off handed comments that made no sense. I, of course reminded her that Collinsville has a leash law and to keep her dog on a leash. I then treated them to a little barking in return.
This is not the first time Chad Lomax has tried to intimidate members of the community. I'm sure it won't be the last. One thing he did learn tonight is that we fight back.
EDIT: I'm learning this morning that Nicolussi bowed up on 2 members of the community and had to be held back by his mother after he and Chad Lomax tried further intimidation tactics on these 2 people. Is this what we want in our community? Do we want politicians who will use intimidation to silence the people?

09/21/2024

PLEASE JOIN US TOMORROW AT THE Collinsville Memorial Library Center AT 6:30pm TO CONFRONT THE LIBRARY BOARD ABOUT THIS ISSUE.

Last Month, we became aware Jeanne Lomax, Library board president was accused of taking a book from the library and refusing to return it because of content. The book is "Satan's Alter."
In 2019 the IRS recognized the Satanic Temple as a tax exempt institution. Being granted tax-exempt status essentially means that the Satanic Temple has the same legal protections that other religions do, including access to public spaces as other religious organizations; affirming its standing in court when battling religious discrimination.
During the meeting, Lomax stated she obtained the book because it was not processed correctly. She denied being concerned about content. However, she had taken the liberty of inviting a very controversial Cristian Nationalist minister to speak on the evils of the book and the evils of the LGBTQ community. Along with a multitude of Christians to "preach" about evil in the Library.
To clarify, the book was checked out through the system in accordance with policy.
In speaking with the director, the book was donated and ended up in the collection due to a miscommunication. Lomax is very aware of this, it was absolutely not a nefarious attempt to bypass policy. After complaining about its content, she was asked to return the book (I believe twice) so it could go through the process. Jeanne Lomax refused to do this. It is important to remember, she checked the book out and it's due date was not up. The question remains, was she upset about the process or the content of the book? Let's examine how she handled the situation. Did she
1. Reach out to the director, return the book for processing and fill out the appropriate request form required to remove it from the collection?
2. Take the book to a church and stand before the congregation proclaiming the book evil. Beg members of the church to attend a library board meeting and complain about the contents of the book not being "our" values. Co-draft a petition to have the book removed?
I believe we all know what option she chose. I contend that if she were concerned about process, she would have handled this internally with the director.
Where is the book now? After the meeting, Lomax returned the book. I understand, it went through the internal process and did not meet criteria to be added to the collection due to similar books of that nature. The book is no longer part of the Collinsville Library collection. There does not seem to be a "Reverse Uno" process to ask the director to reconsider the decision and return the book to the collection. If you or others are interested in the book, I suggest sending an email to the director with your request.
If you want to hold Lomax accountable for the way she handled this situation, please attend the next Library board meeting and voice your concern.
Please be aware. The last meeting attracted some anti-Lgbtq hate speech from members of a Christian Nationalists church. This can be traumatizing to some members of our community. Unfortunately, this particular meeting was not recorded and the library board secretary was absent, but I took VERY good notes.
A link to the church video will be in the comment section. Please be aware, this video includes ANTI-LGBTQ speak and can be traumatizing to persons who have been abused by the church and members of the Christian community.

09/19/2024

Understanding project 2025

Written, animated and performed by Jason KravitsProduced and mixed by Sean DixonwithJason Kravits - guitarSean Dixon - drums, bassChristopher Walz - banjoBri...

09/16/2024

Our library is doing something called "shadow banning." It is important to know, our librarians are pushing back but the board (particularly Lomax and York) are making their job difficult. They are having books removed from the children's area and placed in other areas making them difficult to find. There are children who have LGBTQ parents, friends and relatives in our community.
These are young adult titles concerning gender that they find particularly offensive.
I was at last night's meeting, Lomax pulled the book from her purse. She did not return it to the Library director as requested. It appears it was put in the system in a manner inconsistent with regular protocol by a newish employee. Although Lomax claims this is the reason she retained the book, she also took the liberty of sharing the book with members of her church. We were subjected to multiple people preaching at the pulpit about evil. Including Pastor Miles Holmes who accused the library of attempting to change children's gender. The entire public speaking portion was a painful reminder that some people do not understand religious freedom and that the Library is not a church. The belief that one religion is the only religion is ridiculous.
Please take a moment to sign the petition in support of your librarians. Attend a board meeting if you can.

https://www.facebook.com/share/BXKUbY7Ysi3SapB1/?mibextid=oFDknk

The Mississippi Valley Library District faces a growing number of challenges to its collection and services from a very vocal, small group of individuals who seek to impose their own religious or moral beliefs on others in the community. These newest board members have: - Promoted censorship of mate...

08/10/2024

Free music with your library card! https://mvld.freegalmusic.com/
We are excited to announce that you can now access Freegal Music with your library card. Create your own playlists, stream songs and albums, and download songs to keep.

Freegal Music+ is a free music service which offers download or streaming access to more than 18 million songs. To access your Freegal benefits, you will need your LIBRARY CARD number and PIN to log in. Freegal works with almost all computers, tablets, and smartphones. Apps are available in the Apple store, Google Play store, and Amazon.

Download the app or use your computer to start streaming or downloading your music today. Access over 18 million songs, including today’s top music and yesterday’s hits. Build your own playlists, listen to curated playlists, or simply enjoy an album. All ad-free with your library card!

06/27/2024

GIVEAWAY!
Win six q***r novels!

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care
What If It’s Us
Here’s to Us
History is All You Left Me
Rainbow Road
If I Was Your Girl

For your chance to win:
- Like this page (Collinsville Memorial Library Center)
- Like this post
- Share this post

Winner will be drawn on Saturday, June 29th.

Thanks and good luck!

06/17/2024

UPDATE: The board has voted to leave meeting locations as is. July meeting will be in Fairmont City.

Please notice #8 on the library board agenda. Last month Ginnie York declared FMC library too far away and wants to exclude the FMC location from meetings. Traditionally meetings alternated between Collinsville and FMC.
This move is unfair to FMC residents who may wish to attend meetings close to home. It additionally unfairly favors Collinsville residents.
Board members were well aware of meeting days, times and locations before accepting their post. Saying a 14 minute drive is prohibitively long is absolutely ridiculous.

06/15/2024

05/25/2024

We have Collinsville Aqua Park passes available for free rental!

- Mississippi Valley Library District cardholders only. Pickup at the Fairmont City Library.
- Passes come as a group of 4. One 4-pack per library card.
- One week rental, three day hold period.

Call 618-482-3966 to get on the hold list!