Photo via Racine Public Library - racinelibrary.info
Nick Demske - Racine Public Library
Nick Demske - Racine Public Library
According to the American Library Association, there were 1,247 demands to censor library books in 2023 with 47% of these books dealing with LGBTQ and BIPOC experiences. These protests have led to notable cases such as Amanda Jones, a librarian from Louisiana who was harassed with phone calls and threatened with a lawsuit after speaking out against banning books.
In Racine, there have been efforts from the public library to promote inclusion that have also met backlash such as the summer 2023 Drag Queen story hour which had massive attendance from both supporters and opposition. The outcry has not deterred the Racine Public Library. Under new director Nick Demske, the library has worked to offer a variety of programs that promote diversity such as hosting visiting sessions from the LGBT Center of South East Wisconsin and assisting in sessions with the Work Force Development Center that provide career resources.
Demske sat down to discuss the importance of libraries, the political climate, and how Racine fits into all of it.
Describe how you came into your profession.
I’ve always referred to myself as a living breathing library success story. I didn’t have any plans to work in libraries, but when I graduated, I sold my car, got rid of my apartment and gave up all my savings to go to this outdoor school. I lived outdoors in the Rocky Mountain wilderness for three months and when I came back, I lived in my girlfriend’s mother’s basement. I was taking the bus, grabbing paper job applications and coming to the only free warm place in the community to fill them out.
Eventually, somebody at the library saw me coming in and asked “Are you looking for a job? Just so you know, we’re hiring here.” They handed me an application. I filled it out and got hired as a book shelver at $9.64 an hour. That was 17 and a half years ago now and I think I’ve worked six different roles in the building, advancing when opportunities came up. I didn’t really anticipate that this would be the trajectory, but I’m very glad that it was. When I got here, the library had a program that would pay for you to do continuing education, and I asked if they’d pay for me to get a masters in library science, and they said sure. That’s how I got my credentials; this place was the foundation for the rest of my life.
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Has your experience as a poet helped in your current leadership?
If so, I think my background in the arts and humanities hopefully helps with looking at things creatively. It also helps with communication skills and relating to people on very human levels
What do you feel is the role of libraries in communities like Racine?
When this library opened in 1897, the mayor at the time Peter A Nelson, referred to it as “the university of the City of Racine.” In a number of ways, that’s true; this is an institution of education for everyone. Whether you are economically advantaged or not, you have access to all the information and resources here. However, what the library also is now is a living room to the community and for a lot of people, it’s the only living room they have. It’s a critical place for them to get out of the elements, feel a sense of community and be among other people peaceably.
Wherever a library is, it needs to meet the needs of that community. Racine is the second most diverse municipality in Wisconsin and for the past four decades, we’ve had higher unemployment than any other place in the state. As much as we want to be offering the latest tech and literary features, we also want to make sure we are a place to take a nap or eat.
What is the relationship between the City of Racine and the library? Has it changed over the years you’ve’ been involved?
When a community changes, the library has to adapt to those changes. What a library provides in a wealthy, racially homogenous community may be very appropriate for that community, but it’d be missing the mark for Racine. Constantly being aware of what’s happening in the community and responding appropriately to those challenges is something the library has to do. Part of the way that we do that is making sure we don’t operate individualistically, we’re always collaborating with other community partners who are gathering data and taking the temperature of the community.
Explain how you’ve handled the political climate with regards to national protests against books.
Libraries are experiencing a political moment right now. It’s very cyclical in history: if you look at the ‘50s in this country, that was the last time there was a spike in libraries being politicalized. If you look at countries all over the world, especially ones that have experienced fascism, you see censorship and intellectual freedom being attacked.
In my lifetime, libraries have never had the challenges they’ve faced in past few years. The American Library Association tracks how many book challenges have come up across the country and since 2021, they’ve exponentially grown every year. Some of the reason for that is that in the past, when these challenges happened, it was a family in the community who took out a book. Now, it’s this nationally coordinated effort where we’re seeing dozens and dozens of books being challenged at the same time by the same groups of people. It’s definitely a different landscape than any libraries have had to endure in my lifetime.
Where do you see the Racine library headed in the future?
When people think about libraries, they think about books or literacy, but when I think about what is central to libraries, I think that justice and healing for communities is more central to libraries than literacy. I think literacy is a very effective vehicle for establishing these values. Especially across the country, post pandemic, libraries are seeing high level challenges such as censorship and on the ground challenges such as patron behavior, issues that are tied to pandemic, opioid epidemic, and a number of other factors. As I said earlier, if a library is relevant when responding to the challenges that exist, I think the future of libraries will be trying new creative ways to foster justice and healing.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
The public library is the most radical institution in the United States of America. The fact that anywhere this equitable and inclusive principle still exists in this country is hopeful to me. We all need to play very active roles in preserving public libraries.
