Obviously, we hope this kind of thing never happens in your library – or any other place you might frequent. But it’s valuable to be prepared for disturbances of many kinds – even if it’s not actually Nazis invading your programs.

We go out of our way here to emphasize that as an organization we take no political sides, and we always encourage you to make good decisions for yourself. All candidates, and all elected officials, SHOULD support libraries – and we do enthusiastically encourage you to tell them this important pro-library message! We will, however, take a firm anti-Nazi/white nationalist stand. This is not a population likely to ever support good library funding and service (along with so very many other upsetting positions they take).

Think about your own disaster planning. We’ve talked about this several times across our website, and on our podcast. If your library does not have a disaster plan, send us an email! (admin @ cmle.org) We can help you to get started, and to make up a document that is relevant to your specific library needs.

So we put in an excerpt of an article below, and encourage you to read through the rest on their website by clicking here.

“When a group of self-avowed white nationalists interrupted an author chat Saturday at bookstore Politics and Prose with a megaphone and chants of “This land is our land,” workers were surprised — but not unprepared.

The Northwest Washington bookstore began training employees earlier this year to respond to flash protests, co-owner Bradley Graham said. The decision came after previous author events, including a talk last month by former homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano, drew the ire and attention of left-wing activists and agitators.

Politics and Prose isn’t alone.

Bookstores, libraries and book fairs have become frequent targets of white nationalist groups, who in recent years have interrupted author talks, children’s reading hours and, in one instance, threatened to burn down a bookstore in Berkeley, Calif.

“One of the issues is we can’t always anticipate what author or event might draw protesters or a demonstration,” Graham said. “Clearly, when the political climate heats up, there would seem to be more kindling that could be lit. But whether this will translate to more disturbances at author talks, I certainly hope not, but who knows.”

“…Graham said he hadn’t expected the talk by author Jonathan M. Metzl — who was discussing his book, “Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America’s Heartland” — would attract much attention.

“We have to accept that a lot of this may just be unpredictable,” Graham said.

Metzl’s book explores how some lower- and middle-class white Americans are drawn to politicians who promise to improve their quality of life while also promoting policies that place white Americans at greater risk of illness and death.

“…When protesters arrived Saturday, Metzl said he was talking about a man in the bookstore audience who helped his father and grandparents escape the Nazis.

“I was saying how much stronger America is when we think about our responsibility to people in need. At that point, the Nazis walked into the talk,” he told The Post. “It was very symbolic for me.” “