title: Public library

text: Although by the mid-19th century, England could claim 274 subscription libraries and Scotland, 266, the foundation of the modern public library system in Britain is the Public Libraries Act 1850. The Act first gave local boroughs the power to establish free public libraries and was the first legislative step toward the creation of an enduring national institution that provides universal free access to information and literature. In the 1830s, at the height of the Chartist movement, there was a general tendency towards reformism in the United Kingdom. The middle classes were concerned that the workers' free time was not being well-spent. This was prompted more by Victorian middle class paternalism than by demand from the lower social orders. Campaigners felt that encouraging the lower classes to spend their free time on morally uplifting activities, such as reading, would promote greater social good.


title: Public library

text: Salford Museum and Art Gallery first opened in November 1850 as "The Royal Museum & Public Library", as the first unconditionally free public library in England. The library in Campfield, Manchester was the first library to operate a "free" lending library without subscription in 1852. Norwich lays claim to being the first municipality to adopt the Public Libraries Act 1850 (which allowed any municipal borough with a population of 100,000 or more to introduce a halfpenny rate to establish public libraries—although not to buy books). Norwich was the eleventh library to open, in 1857, after Winchester, Manchester, Liverpool, Bolton, Kidderminster, Cambridge, Birkenhead and Sheffield.


title: Public library

text: The 1850 Act was noteworthy because it established the principle of free public libraries. In 1866, an amending Act was passed which eliminated entirely the population limit for the establishment of a library and replaced the two-thirds majority previously required for adoption with a simple majority. It also allowed neighbouring parishes to combine with an existing or potential library authority. Despite the rise in the level of tax public libraries could levy, it was still very difficult for boroughs to raise enough capital to fund new libraries. The growth of the public library movement in the wake of the 1850 Act relied heavily on the donations of philanthropists.


title: Public library

text: County libraries were a later development, which were made possible by the establishment of County Councils in 1888. They normally have a large central library in a major town with smaller branch libraries in other towns and a mobile library service covering rural areas.


title: Public library

text: The modern public library grew at a great pace at the end of the 19th century especially in the English-speaking world. Philanthropists and businessmen, including John Passmore Edwards, Henry Tate and Andrew Carnegie, helped to fund the establishment of large numbers of public libraries for the edification of the masses.


title: Public library

text: Public libraries in North America developed from the 18th century to today; as the country grew more populous and wealthier, factors such as a push for education and desire to share knowledge led to broad public support for free libraries. In addition, money donations by private philanthropists provided the seed capital to get many libraries started. In some instances, collectors donated large book collections.


title: Public library

text: The first modern public library in the world supported by taxes was the Peterborough Town Library in Peterborough, New Hampshire. It was "established in 1833." This was a small public library. The first large public library supported by taxes in the United States was the Boston Public Library, which was established in 1848 but did not open its doors to the public until 1854.


title: Public library

text: The Redwood Library and Athenaeum was founded in 1747 by a group led by Abraham Redwood. It was the first library in Rhode Island and the oldest lending library in America. Over half of its volumes were lost when it was used as the British Officers Club during the Revolutionary War. An effort was made to replace the original collection. Over 90% of the volumes lost were returned. The library is still in use.


title: Public library

text: A total of 1,689 Carnegie libraries were built in the United States between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to universities. By 1930, half the American public libraries had been built by Carnegie.


title: Public library

text: The first public library in Australia was the Melbourne Public Library (now the State Library of Victoria), which opened in 1856, just a few years after their introduction into Britain. This was however purely a reference library. In September 1869, the New South Wales (NSW) government opened as the Free Public Library, Sydney (now the State Library of New South Wales) by purchasing a bankrupt subscription library. In 1896, the Brisbane Public Library was established. The Library's collection, purchased by the Queensland Government from the private collection of Justice Harding. In 1935 the "Free Library Movement" was established in New South Wales advocating for free public libraries to be supported by municipal authorities. A similar movement was established in Victoria within a couple of years.


title: Public library

text: Eugène Morel, a writer and one of the librarians at the Bibliothèque nationale, pioneered modern public libraries in France. He put forward his ideas in the 1910 book "La Librairie publique".


title: Public library

text: The main task of public libraries is to provide the public with access to books and periodicals. The American Library Association (ALA), addresses this role of libraries as part of "access to information" and "equity of access"; part of the profession's ethical commitment that "no one should be denied information because he or she cannot afford the cost of a book or periodical, have access to the internet or information in any of its various formats."


title: Public library

text: Libraries typically offer access to thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions of books, the majority of which are available for borrowing by anyone with the appropriate library card. A library's selection of books is called its "collection", and usually includes a range of popular fiction, classics, nonfiction and reference works, books of public interest or under public discussion, and subscriptions to popular newspapers and magazines. Most libraries offer quiet space for reading, known as reading rooms. Borrowers may also take books home, as long as they return them at a certain time and in good condition. If a borrowed book is returned late, the library may charge a small library fine, though some libraries have eliminated fines in recent years. About two-thirds of libraries now provide access to e-books and digital or digitized periodicals as well as printed books. Many libraries offer assistance to borrowers, to select books, through specialist Readers' Advisory Services librarians.


title: Public library

text: Public libraries also provide books and other materials for children. These items are often housed in a special section known as a children's library and attended to by a specialized children's librarian. Child oriented websites with on-line educational games and programs specifically designed for younger library users are becoming increasingly popular. Services may be provided for other groups, such as large print or Braille materials, Books on tape, young adult literature and other materials for teenagers, or materials in other than the national language (in foreign languages).


title: Public library

text: Libraries also lend books to each other, a practice known as interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loan allows libraries to provide patrons access to the collections of other libraries, especially rare, infrequently used, specialized and/or out-of-print books. Libraries within the same system, such as a county system, may lend their books to each other, or libraries in different states may even use an interlibrary loan system.


title: Public library

text: The selection, purchase and cataloging of books for a collection; the care, repair, and weeding of books; the organization of books in the library; readers' advisory; and the management of membership, borrowing and lending are typical tasks for a public librarian, an information professional with graduate-level education or experience in library and information science.


title: Public library

text: In the United States, libraries are responsible for supporting the First Amendment and how it relates to their facilities through policies such as the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights. The right to freedom of speech and information is significant to public libraries; one way of upholding this doctrine is to protect the privacy of all patrons that belong to a library. The concept of confidentiality is important because the First Amendment may be violated if a patron's information could possibly be shared. Patrons may not feel free to check out certain materials for fear it would later be revealed. Members of society need to be reassured that even if they borrow controversial or embarrassing materials, their privacy will be upheld.


title: Public library

text: Some libraries require staff to talk about confidentiality or direct the patron to literature on the subject when creating a new library card for patrons.


title: Public library

text: Part of the public library mission has become attempting to help bridge the digital divide. As more books, information resources, and government services are being provided online (see e-commerce and e-government), public libraries increasingly provide access to the Internet and public computers for users who otherwise would not be able to connect to these services. They can also provide community spaces to encourage the general population to improve their digital skills through Library Coding Clubs and Library makerspace. Almost all public libraries now house a computer lab. Internationally, public libraries offer information and communication technology (ICT) services, giving "access to information and knowledge" the "highest priority". While different countries and areas of the world have their own requirements, general services offered include free connection to the Internet, training in using the Internet, and relevant content in appropriate languages. In addition to typical public library financing, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and business fund services that assist public libraries in combating the digital divide.


title: Public library

text: In addition to access, many public libraries offer training and support to computer users. Once access has been achieved, there remains a large gap in people's online abilities and skills. For many communities, the public library is the only agency offering free computer classes, information technology learning and an affordable, interactive way to build digital skills. , 91% of libraries offer free wireless Internet to their patrons; 76% offer e-books for borrowing; and 90% offer formal or informal technology training. A significant service provided by public libraries is assisting people with e-government access and use of federal, state and local government information, forms and services.


title: Public library

text: In 2006, 73% percent of library branches reported that they are the only local provider of free public computer and Internet access. A 2008 study found that "100 percent of rural, high poverty outlets provide public Internet access. Access to computers and the Internet is now nearly as important to library patrons as access to books.


title: Public library

text: Public libraries have a long history of functioning as community centers or public spaces for reading, study and formal and informal public meetings. In 1898, Andrew Carnegie, a prominent library philanthropist, built a library in Homestead, Pennsylvania, where his main steel mills were located. Besides a book collection, it included a bowling alley, an indoor swimming pool, basketball courts and other athletic facilities, a music hall, and numerous meeting rooms for local organizations. It sponsored highly successful semi-pro football and baseball teams. Even before the development of the modern public library, subscription libraries were often used as clubs or gathering places. They served as much for social gossip and the meeting of friends, as coffee shops do today. Throughout history, public libraries were touted as alternatives to dance halls or gentleman's clubs, and frequently built, organized and supported because of their equalizing and civilizing influence.


title: Public library

text: Today, in-person and on-line programs for reader development, language learning, homework help, free lectures and cultural performances, and other community service programs are common offerings. The library storytime, in which books are read aloud to children and infants, is a cultural touchstone. Most public libraries offer frequent storytimes, often daily or even several times a day for different age groups. Some libraries have begun offering sensory storytimes for children and adults on the autism spectrum. Sensory storytimes give patrons "more ways to process information", especially considering people on the autism spectrum are concrete thinkers and/or might have sensory issues to fluorescent lightning or ambient noise other patrons might not notice.


title: Public library

text: One of the most popular programs offered in public libraries is "summer reading" for children, families, and adults. Summer reading usually includes a list of books to read during summer holidays, as well as performances, book discussions or other celebrations of reading, culture and the humanities. Many libraries offer classes to the community such as tech clinics where patrons can bring in laptops and electronic devices and receive one on one attention in solving their problems and learning how to use them.


title: Public library

text: Libraries may also offer free or inexpensive meeting space for community organizations and educational and entrepreneurial activity. The addition of makerspaces in libraries (this is usually referred to as community outreach), beginning with the Fayetteville Free Library in 2011, offers the potential for new roles for public spaces and public libraries. Attendance at library programs increased by 22% between 2004 and 2008.


title: Public library

text: While in the past libraries were merely buildings to house their collections, most now utilize their space to offer programs or clubs regularly. Although some libraries will have similar programs with different names, such as book club, writing club or computer programs, most programs will differ based on the specific library and the community they serve. New studies have shown that librarians must research what their specific community needs, “because communities differ, however, the ways libraries implement these services differ as well. The [example of service response] offered at one library may vary significantly from [the same example] offered by another library. The differences are perfectly appropriate if they result from a tailoring of services to address local needs.” Websites like Pinterest have numerous ideas for creating programs for local patrons, while the website Instructables has DIY tutorials, complete with pictures, which is helpful for libraries on a budget. "Programs in the humanities and the arts that encourage people to think and talk about ethics and values, history, art, poetry, and other cultures are integral to the library’s mission."


title: Public library

text: Adult library programming in the United States initially had strong ties to adult education and adult literacy. Margaret E. Monroe traced these connections on the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Adult Education Act which was part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.


title: Public library

text: The American Library Association supported the "Adult Services in the Eighties" (ASE) project which replicated an earlier ALA 1952-53 survey, "Adult Education Activities in Public Libraries" by Helen Lyman Smith. The ASE project was conducted to provide planning for new directions for adult library services. Sources on the scope of adult services include "Where Would We Be without Them? Libraries and Adult Education Activities: 1966–91," "Twenty-First Century Public Library Adult Services,""Adult Programs in the Library," and "Designing Adult Services Strategies For Better Serving Your Community." A national study of public library service to older adults was conducted in 2015.


title: Public library

text: The New York Public Library offers over 93,000 programs to its patrons every year at its 87 different branches. Adult programs include Excel classes, writing club, adult coloring club, chess club, knitting club, and a jewelry making class.


title: Public library

text: The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library has an adult coloring club, a crochet/knitting/sewing club, a gardening club, a bead and string class, and a bilingual computer class.


title: Public library

text: The Tampa–Hillsborough County Public Library System has 31 branches that offer the usual book clubs and writing clubs for adults. However, they also offer an early morning walking club, chair yoga classes, beginning computer classes, genealogy classes, walk-in tech help, and a coffee and French talk class.


title: Public library

text: The Orange County Library System offers numerous teen activities such as a Maker/DIY program, Audio Equipment Training, Sewing classes, Knitting classes, ESL classes, and Chess club.


title: Public library

text: The Springfield Greene County Library has writing and book clubs as well as a tech training class, board game nights, movie nights, craft classes, and a "My Little Pony" club.


title: Public library

text: The Pikes Peak Library District has math tutors for their teen patrons. They also offer writing and book clubs, a "Dungeons and Dragons" club, a coding lab, an anime club, guided meditation, and an occasional "Super Smash Bros." Tournament.


title: Public library

text: The Belmont Public Library offers an array of children's programs including story times for various age groups, concerts, music classes, puppet shows, a maker club, and sing-along Saturdays.


title: Public library

text: The Saratoga Springs Public Library also has numerous story times as well as Yoga for children, parent/child workshops, Spanish workshops, a read-to-a-dog program, and a Kindness club.


title: Public library

text: The Chelmsford Public Library has a plethora of story times for ages birth to preschool. They also offer baby yoga, stay and play time, toddler rhyme time, a dads and donuts day, and an annual Gingerbread Festival.


title: Public library

text: A significant goal of American libraries is to become more culturally diverse throughout the country. Public libraries are an equal access facility and want to make everyone feel welcome no matter their religion, race, ethnicity, sex, or financial status. To accomplish this goal, libraries are striving to find ways in which to make both staff and the library programs they provide more culturally sensitive.


title: Public library

text: A starting point for most libraries is to find out the demographics in which they are located. Once the library system learns more about the community they serve, they can start building a collection and programs around it. Another suggestion from multiple experts says to hire staff that represents the society that the library is located in order to better relate and serve members of that society.


title: Public library

text: By making culturally diverse programs, a library can be inviting to many members of the community. A few ways libraries accomplish this goal are by providing programs which are inclusive to many different cultures such as having lectures or events in different languages, including celebrations and holidays that are diverse, and by inviting speakers and authors from different cultures to come and talk.


title: Public library

text: Librarians at most public libraries provide reference and research help to the general public. This can include assisting students in finding reliable sources for papers and presentations; helping the public find answers to questions or evidence in a debate; or providing resources related to a specific event or topic. Reference assistance is usually provided through a reference interview which is usually conducted at a public reference desk but may also be conducted by telephone or online. Reference librarians may also help patrons develop an appropriate bibliography or works cited page for an academic paper. Depending on the size of the library, there may be multiple reference desks that deal with different topics. Large public, academic or research libraries may employ librarians that are experts in specific topics or subjects. Often the children's section in a public library has its own reference desk. At a smaller library, circulation and reference may occur at the same desk.


title: Public library

text: The Internet has had a significant effect on the availability and delivery of reference services. Many reference works, such as the "Encyclopædia Britannica", have moved entirely online, and the way people access and use these works has changed dramatically in recent decades. The rise of search engines and crowd-sourced resources such as Wikipedia have transformed the reference environment. In addition to the traditional reference interview, reference librarians have an increasing role in providing access to digitized reference works (including the selection and purchase of databases not available to the general public) and ensuring that references are reliable and presented in an academically acceptable manner. Librarians also have a role in teaching information literacy, so that patrons can find, understand and use information and finding aids like search engines, databases and library catalogs: for instance, patrons who lack access to expensive academic subscriptions can be taught to Unpaywall to access open access literature easily.


title: Public library

text: Public libraries may answer millions of reference questions every year. The Boston Public Library answers more than one million reference questions annually.


title: Public library

text: In addition to their circulating collection, public libraries usually offer a collection of reference books, such encyclopedias, dictionaries, phone books and unique or expensive academic works. These books may not be available for borrowing, except under special circumstances. Reference books that are frequently used, such as phone books, may be housed in a special section called "ready reference."


title: Public library

text: Some libraries also keep historical documents relevant to their particular town, and serve as a resource for historians in some instances. The Queens Public Library kept letters written by unrecognized Tiffany lamp designer Clara Driscoll, and the letters remained in the library until a curator discovered them. Some libraries may also serve as archives or government depositories, preserving historic newspapers, property records or government documents. Collections of unique or historical works are sometimes referred to as special collections; except in rare cases, these items are reference items, and patrons must use them inside the library under the supervision or guidance of a librarian. Local libraries' special collections may be of particular interest to people researching their family history. Libraries that are focused on collecting works related to particular families are genealogical libraries and may be housed in the same building as a public library.


title: Public library

text: Many libraries—especially large, urban libraries—have large collections of photographs, digital images, rare and fragile books, artifacts and manuscripts available for public viewing and use. Digitization and digital preservation of these works is an ongoing effort, usually funded by grants or philanthropy. In 2005, the New York Public Library offered the "NYPL Digital Gallery" which made a collection of 275,000 images viewable over the web; while most of the contents are in the public domain, some images are still subject to copyright rules. Limited funding, copyright restrictions, a lack of expertise and poor provenance are barriers to the large-scale digitization of libraries' special collections.


title: Public library

text: Depending on a community's desires and needs, public libraries may offer many other resources and services to the public. In addition to print books and periodicals, most public libraries today have a wide array of other media including audiobooks, e-books, CDs, cassettes, videotapes, and DVDs. Certain libraries stock general materials for borrowing, such as pots, pans, sewing machines, and similar household items in order to appeal to a larger population. Collections of books and academic research related to the local town or region are common, along with collections of works by local authors. Libraries' storage space and lending systems may be used to lend a wide range of materials, including works of art, cake pans, seeds, tools and musical instruments. Similar to museums and other cultural institutions, libraries may also host exhibits or exhibitions.


title: Public library

text: In addition to the extension of media variety and services, public libraries have been experimenting with different means to cater more specifically to their local patrons. One such program in California, Zip Books, works to provide books that libraries may not have in their collections for patrons who may be looking for them. Initially started as a pilot program in 2011 through an LSTA grant from the California Public Library system, the program works by patrons of partnered library districts initially making requests for books through Zip that their libraries does not possess. The libraries then purchase the books and have them sent directly to the patron requesting them. Then, once the patron has finished the books, they simply bring them to their local library, where the library will then incorporate them into their collection. Any libraries seeking to join the program can write out an application for their district to join Zip and their application then goes through a review process determined by need and the funding that is available. Funding is then distributed to members each year, with current members and libraries already on a waitlist taking first priority. This program, as of early 2022, has been expanded to 89 districts throughout California and any new applicants can apply for up to $35,000 worth of books in tangible formats. The maintenance of this program does fall onto the individual libraries and their librarians are then responsible for record keeping and managing the grant funds and their requests.


title: Public library

text: As more government services move online, libraries and librarians have a role in providing access to online forms and assistance with filling them out. For example, in 2013, American public libraries were promoted as a way for people to access online health insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act.


title: Public library

text: In rural areas, the local public library may have a bookmobile service, consisting of one or more buses or pack animals (such as burros, camels, donkey, or elephants) furnished as small public libraries, some equipped with Internet access points or computer labs, and serving the countryside according to a regular schedule. In communities that are extremely isolated or that have poor digital infrastructure, libraries may provide the only access to online education, telemedicine, or remote work. Libraries also partner with schools and community organizations to promote literacy and learning.


title: Public library

text: 24-hour library access has been piloted in certain public libraries in North America, such as the Pioneer Library System's Norman Public Library in Oklahoma and Ottawa Public Library in Ontario. Such access may involve anywhere from a "library vending machine", in which print books are mechanically vended to (and dispensed from) patrons, to reduced staff during the night and early morning hours.


title: Public library

text: Libraries promote cultural awareness; in Newark, New Jersey, the public library celebrated African-American history with exhibits and programs. One account suggested libraries were essential to "economic competitiveness" as well as "neighborhood vitality" and help some people find jobs.


title: Public library

text: Libraries have in important role during emergencies and disasters, where they may be used as shelters, provide space to charge phones and access the Internet, and serve as locations for the distribution of aid, especially financial aid, which requires access to computers and the Internet. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency recognizes libraries as providing essential community service during times of disaster. Libraries have also had in increasingly important economic role during the recession, providing job search assistance, computer skills training and resume help to patrons.


title: Public library

text: In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, many libraries have begun offering remote and distance learning options for patrons.


title: Public library

text: The establishment or development of a public library involves creating a legal authorization and governing structure, building a collection of books and media, as well as securing reliable funding sources, especially government sources. Most public libraries are small, serving a population of under 25,000, and are (or were) established in response to specific local needs. In "A Library Primer", John Cotton Dana's 1899 work on the establishment and management of libraries in the United States, Dana wrote:


title: Public library

text: Each community has different needs, and begins its library under different conditions. Consider then, whether you need most a library devoted chiefly to the work of helping the schools, or one to be used mainly for reference, or one that shall run largely to periodicals and be not much more than a reading room, or one particularly attractive to girls and women, or one that shall not be much more than a cheerful resting-place, attractive enough to draw man and boy from street corner and saloon. Decide this question early, that all effort may be concentrated to one end, and that your young institution may suit the community in which it is to grow, and from which it is to gain its strength.


title: Public library

text: After being established and funded through a resolution, public referendum or similar legal process, the library is usually managed by a board of directors, library council or other local authority. A librarian is designated as the library director or library manager. In small municipalities, city or county government may serve as the library board and there may be only one librarian involved in the management and direction of the library. Library staff who are not involved in management are known in the United States and some other English-speaking countries as "library paraprofessionals" or "library support staff." They may or may not have formal education in library and information science. Support staff have important roles in library collection development, cataloging, technical support, and the process of preparing books for borrowing. All of these tasks may be referred to as "technical services", whether or not they involve information technology. While the library's governing board has ultimate authority to establish policy, many other organizations may participate in library management or library fundraising, including civic and voluntary associations, women's clubs, Friends of the Library groups, and groups established to advise the library on the purchase and retention of books.


title: Public library

text: State and national governments may also have a role in the establishment and organization of public libraries. Many governments operate their own large libraries for public and legislative use (e.g., state libraries, the Library of Congress, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France). These governments can also influence local libraries by reserving formal recognition or funding for libraries that meet specific requirements. Finally, associations of library and information professionals, such as the American Library Association (ALA) and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) help establish norms and standard procedures, secure funding, advocate at the state or national level and certify library schools or information schools.


title: Public library

text: Public libraries are funded from a range of sources, the most significant of which is usually local or municipal funding. The citizens who use a local library support it via the city or county government, or through a special-purpose district, which is a local government body that has independent leadership and may levy its own taxes. Local funding may be supplemented by other government funding. For example, in the United States, the state and federal governments provide supplementary funding for public libraries through state aid programs, the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and E-Rate. In England, Local Authorities have a statutory duty to provide residents with a library service as set out in the Local Government Act 1974. State and local governments may also offer cities and counties large grants for library construction or renovation. Private philanthropy has also had a significant role in the expansion and transformation of library services, and, like other educational institutions, some libraries may be partially funded by an endowment. Some proactive librarians have devised alliances with patron and civic groups to supplement their financial situations. Library "friends" groups, activist boards, and well organized book sales also supplement government funding.


title: Public library

text: Public funding has always been an important part of the definition of a public library. However, with local governments facing financial pressures due to the Great Recession, some libraries have explored ways to supplement public funding. Cafes, bakeries, bookstores, gift shops and similar commercial endeavors are common features of new and urban libraries. The Boston Public Library has two restaurants and an online store which features reproductions of photographs and artwork. Pressure on funding has also led to closer partnerships between libraries, and between libraries and for-profit ventures, in order to sustain the library as a public space while providing business opportunities to the community. While still fairly uncommon, public-private partnerships and "mixed-use" or "dual-use" libraries, which provide services to the public and one or more student populations, are occasionally explored as alternatives. Jackson County, Oregon (US), closed its entire 15-branch public library system for six months in 2007, reopening with under a public-private partnership and a reduced schedule. Small fees, such as library fines or printing fees, may also offset the cost of providing library services, though fines and fees do not usually have a significant role in library funding. The decline of support from local governments has left libraries compensating at the expense of their patrons. In the article ‘Waking Up to Advocacy in a New Political Reality for Libraries,” as early as the 1980s, libraries began charging fees and accruing fines for services rendered. These services included "printing, notarizing, scanning, photocopying, photo services, library cards for those who live outside of the service area, meeting room usage, document searches, inter-library loan, and e-book checkouts, and among many others".


title: Public library

text: Data shows disparities in private and public libraries, exemplifying that libraries in rural areas possess weaker technological infrastructures and fewer full-time employees holding the title of Librarian. Data shows that funding and service levels differ across and within states. Rural libraries tend to have smaller collections, lower bandwidth rates, less staff and fewer hours of operations. Access to high quality internet may be limited for lower-income individuals, ethnic minorities and rural residents. Due to underused libraries in less-advantaged communities, local governments have permanently closed libraries effecting individuals that are less educated.


title: Public library

text: Although usage of public libraries has increased significantly in recent decades, libraries are under intense financial pressure and scrutiny. The American Library Association says media reports it compiled in 2004 showed some $162 million in funding cuts to libraries nationwide. In 2009, 40% of states reported a decline in state aid for libraries. In 2012, Great Britain lost over 200 libraries to budget cuts, part of a general trend of fiscal austerity in Europe. However, there are signs of stabilization in library funding. , funding for construction and renovation of new libraries remains steady. Cities' plans to close public libraries are frequently cancelled or scaled back. In 2012, voters in 13 U.S. states approved new funding for library construction or operations. In the UK, the Library of Birmingham, which opened in 2013, is the largest cultural space in Europe.


title: Public library

text: Survey data suggests the public values free public libraries. A Public Agenda survey in 2006 reported 84% of the public said maintaining free library services should be a top priority for their local library. Public libraries received higher ratings for effectiveness than other local services such as parks and police. But the survey also found the public was mostly unaware of financial difficulties facing their libraries. In various cost-benefit studies libraries continue to provide returns on the taxpayer dollar far higher than other municipal spending. A 2008 survey discusses comprehensively the prospects for increased funding in the United States, saying in conclusion "There is sufficient, but latent, support for increased library funding among the voting population." A 2013 Pew Research Center survey reported that 90% of Americans ages 16 and older said that the closing of their local public library would affect their community, with 63% saying it would have a "major" impact.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: Ada Martine Stolsmo Hegerberg (born 10 July 1995) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Division 1 Féminine club Lyon and the Norway national team.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: Hegerberg has represented Norway at the youth international level, and made her debut for the senior team in 2011. In 2013, she was a part of the silver medalist team at the 2013 UEFA Women's Championship. She was on team Norway at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2017 UEFA Women's Championship and the 2022 UEFA Women's Championship.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: Hegerberg was awarded the 2016 UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe Award on 25 August 2016, and in 2017 and 2019 was named BBC Women's Footballer of the Year. In 2018 she was the first-ever recipient of the Ballon d'Or Féminin. She holds the record for most goals in a UEFA Women's Champions League season (15), and is currently the all-time highest goalscorer in UEFA Women's Champions League (59).


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: Hegerberg was born in Molde, but grew up in Sunndalsøra where she played for Sunndal Fotball along with her older sister Andrine. In 2007, their family moved to Kolbotn, where the sisters later joined Kolbotn IL.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: She made her debut for Kolbotn in 2010. On 6 August 2011, she scored three goals in seven minutes as Røa were beaten 4–1, with Andrine scoring the last goal. Aged 16, this made her the youngest player ever to have scored a hat-trick in Toppserien. While still 16 years old, she finished as Kolbotn's top scorer in the 2011 Toppserien season and was voted as the league's Young Player of the Year. Ahead of the 2012 season, both Hegerberg sisters joined Stabæk. During a match against Fart in May 2012, she scored five goals during the first half of Stabæk's 8–2 win. At this stage the sisters were considered to be two of the biggest talents in Norwegian women's football, and Ada won the Statoil "Talent of the Month" award for the second time in May 2012. She became top goalscorer in the 2012 Toppserien with 25 goals in 18 matches. She also contributed two goals in the semi-final of the 2012 Norwegian Women's Cup, when Amazon Grimstad were beaten 3–0. Stabæk's 4–0 final victory over Røa saw Hegerberg score a hat-trick.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: In 2013, she and her sister signed contracts with the German side 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam until 30 June 2014, where they became teammates of their countrywoman Maren Mjelde. Hegerberg scored in her Bundesliga debut when SC Freiburg was beaten 3–1. In their first season in Germany, the Hegerbergs and Turbine finished second in both the 2012–13 Bundesliga and the 2012–13 DFB-Pokal.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: In the summer of 2014, she transferred to Olympique Lyonnais. Hegerberg had a very successful first season in France. She scored 26 goals in 22 league games, leading Lyon to a ninth consecutive Division 1 Féminine title. In the Coupe de France Féminine Final, Hegerberg scored the tying goal in the 47th minute, eventually culminating in a 2–1 victory over Montpellier.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: Hegerberg returned to Lyon for the 2015–16 campaign. On 27 September, she scored a hat-trick in Lyon's 5–0 victory against rival PSG. Hegerberg became the first player to score a hat-trick against PSG since Julie Morel in October 2008. In November, Hegerberg reached an agreement on a contract extension to stay with the club through the 2019 season. Lyon retained the league title for the tenth time in a row on 8 May 2016. Hegerberg finishing the season as the top scorer of the league with 33 goals in 21 appearances. One week later, Hegerberg secured the Coupe de France with Lyon. In UEFA Women's Champions League action, Lyon went on to win the competition behind Hegerberg's 13 goals in 9 matches, to complete a treble.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: On 3 December 2018, Hegerberg became the first ever winner of the Ballon d'Or Féminin. There was controversy during the ceremony, however, as the host, DJ Martin Solveig, asked Hegerberg upon receiving the award if she wanted to dance in celebration and "knew how to twerk", who in turn responded "no". His comments were criticised as sexist in the media; he later apologised for his remark. Regarding the incident, Hegerberg later commented: "He came to me afterwards and was really sad that it went that way. I didn’t really consider it sexual harassment or anything in the moment. I was just happy to do the dance and win the Ballon d’Or." Concerning her award, she also added: "It’s incredible. This is a great motivation to continue working hard and we will continue to work together to win more titles. I wanted to end with some words for young girls around the world: believe in yourselves."


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: Head to head with Paris Saint-Germain all season long, Lyon crushed their rivals 5–0 on 13 April 2019, with a goal and an assist for Hegerberg, a major individual performance. Lyon secured the title ten days later. After scoring the only goal of the Coupe de France semi-final against Grenoble Foot 38, Hegerberg was involved in two of the three goals in the final against Lille OSC, winning yet another competition.On 18 May 2019, Hegerberg delivered a Player of the Match performance in the 2019 UEFA Women's Champions League Final. With a hat-trick in just 16 minutes, she became the first player to score three goals in a UWCL final. Lyon completed the treble against Barcelona with a 4–1 victory, winning a fourth UWCL trophy in a row, a unique performance in modern football. By the end of the season, Hegerberg had won 13 out of 15 trophies possible in her stay with Lyon.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: On 30 October 2019, she became the UEFA Women's Champions League all-time top scorer, after scoring her 53rd goal in her 50th appearance.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: Hegerberg sustained an injury before Lyon were due to play Stade de Reims on 26 January 2020. It was later confirmed via an MRI scan that she had ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament. On 28 January, the club announced that she would miss at least the remainder of the season. In the wake of the COVID-19 breakthrough, the season was stopped only a few weeks after.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: On 18 December 2020, she signed a contract extension with Lyon keeping her at the club through June 2024. It was said in a later press release from the club that Hegerberg would not be available before the start of the 2021–22 season.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: On 5 October 2021, Hegerberg made her Lyon comeback after 21 months on the sideline, playing the final 12 minutes in Lyon's 3–0 win over BK Häcken in the opening match of the UEFA Champions League group stage. She scored her first goals post-injury on 14 November 2021, with a brace against arch-rival Paris Saint-Germain, in one of the biggest games in women's football.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: In April 2022, she was instrumental in the qualification of her team to the final of the Champions League, being credited with an assist in a 3–2 victory at home against Paris Saint-Germain, and scoring the opening goal in a 2–1 win away, in a national record 43,000 fans at the Parc des Princes. In the final, she scored a goal and had an assist in a 3–1 win over Barcelona, to win her sixth title in the competition.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: At the age of 15, Hegerberg was on team Norway under-19 that played at the 2011 UEFA Women's U-19 Championship. She was also included in the squad for the final tournament, where Norway reached the final. Hegerberg was on team Norway that played at 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup into the quarter-final. She and Andrine scored the goals in a 2–1 win over Canada in the group stage. She made her senior debut for Norway as a substitute in a 3–1 defeat to Northern Ireland in Lurgan on 19 November 2011.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: Hegerberg made her championship debut on team Norway that played at the 2013 UEFA Women's Championship; a 1–1 draw with Iceland on 11 July 2013. She scored her first goal in the tournament as Spain were defeated 3–1 in the quarter-final and played the entire 90 minutes as Norway lost the final 1–0 to Germany.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: Hegerberg was on team Norway at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She scored three goals in three group stage games, highlighted by a two-goal performance in Norway 3–1 over Ivory Coast. Hegerberg was nominated for the Best Young Player Award for her efforts.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: In January 2016, Hegerberg was awarded the 2015 Norwegian Gold Ball, given to the best footballer in Norway. The previous time it was awarded to a woman was 20 years earlier.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: In the summer of 2017, Hegerberg decided to stop representing the national team as a form of protest due to a dispute with the NFF about how they treat women's football. Despite some improvements including the doubling of the remuneration pot for women, Hegerberg felt there was "still a long way to go" so has continued to refuse to be called up and missed the 2019 World Cup. She described her time with the national team "deeply depressing", giving her "nightmares" and leaving her "mentally broken".


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: In March 2022, Hegerberg ended her five year exile from the national team. On her first game back on 7 April, Hegerberg scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 win against Kosovo in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: In May 2020, in an online interview with ESPN, Hegerberg said that women's football would suffer due to COVID-19 because it is the sport's "weakest link". "We're kind of at the stage where we're still in need of that help and when you see football as a whole and the men's football is struggling you can also imagine yourself how the women's football is affected of this." Hegerberg stressed not losing track of women's football, especially as positives have emerged in terms of support for the game: "We need to raise our voices obviously to keep the subject warm."


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: The Norwegian is one of the most in-demand athletes in the world. After being awarded the Ballon d'Or in 2018, Hegerberg became an ambassador for the watchmaker Hublot, as well as the financial technology company Mastercard. During the summer of 2019, after attending events such as the UEFA Champions League Final and the French Open for her sponsor Mastercard, she became the global ambassador of the Danone Nations Cup, the biggest international tournament of U12, for both girls and boys. In the summer of 2020, after six years collaborating with sports equipment supplier Puma, Nike and herself announced a long-term partnership. The American giant immediately elevated Hegerberg in multiple marketing campaigns, reinforcing its will to support activism, Hegerberg being known as a gender equality and sustainability activist.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: Hegerberg has had a massive media impact over the past years, widely considered as the number one spokesperson for her sport, given the numerous interviews she gave for women's football.


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: On 19 November 2020, the US-based streaming platform ESPN+ published a documentary about Hegerberg: "My Name is Ada Hegerberg".


title: Ada Hegerberg

text: Hegerberg has been named one of the most powerful women in sport by a number of media, including Sports Illustrated.


title: Christophe Beck

text: Jean-Christophe Beck (born November 30, 1972) is a Canadian television and film score composer and conductor. He is a brother of pianist Chilly Gonzales. He is best known for his collaborations with Disney and its subsidiaries, which include composing the soundtracks of "The Muppets" (2011), "Frozen" (2013) and its 2019 sequel, the Marvel Cinematic Universe films "Ant-Man" (2015), "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018), and "" (2023) as well as its TV miniseries "WandaVision" (2021) and "Hawkeye" for Marvel Studios, and "Free Guy" (2021) for 20th Century Studios, as well as the company’s 100th anniversary logo.


title: Christophe Beck

text: He is also noted for winning an Emmy Award in 1998 for his work on the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", as well as for composing the soundtrack of "The Hangover" (2009).


title: Christophe Beck

text: Beck started piano lessons at five, and by eleven he was learning Bee Gees songs by ear and performing with his first band. Beck attended Crescent School where he studied piano, saxophone, and drums, and wrote many '80s love ballads.


title: Christophe Beck

text: While studying music at Yale, Beck wrote two musicals with his brother Jason, as well as an opera based on “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe.


title: Christophe Beck

text: Upon graduation, Beck moved to Los Angeles to attend USC's film scoring program, where he studied with Jerry Goldsmith. A personal recommendation from Buddy Baker, then head of the USC Music Department, led to his first assignment for a Canadian TV series called "White Fang". Several TV series later, he was asked to score the second season of WB Network's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Beck received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for his score to the "Buffy" episode, “Becoming, Part 1.”


title: Christophe Beck

text: In 2000, the cheerleading comedy "Bring It On" launched Beck's film career. His credits include "Under the Tuscan Sun", "Edge of Tomorrow", "Crazy, Stupid, Love", "Pitch Perfect", and the "Hangover" trilogy. More recently, Chris scored the Oscar- and Grammy-winning animated film "Frozen", and several installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). At the D23 Expo in 2022, it was announced that Beck had composed a new arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" to accompany the Walt Disney Studios's 100th anniversary production logo, which debuted ahead of the film "Strange World".


title: La Spezia

text: La Spezia (, , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy.


title: La Spezia

text: La Spezia is the second largest city in the Liguria region, after Genoa. Located roughly midway between Genoa and Pisa, on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and a major Italian Navy base. A popular seaside resort, it is also a significant railway junction, and is notable for its museums, for the Palio del Golfo rowing race, and for railway and boat links with the Cinque Terre.


title: La Spezia

text: La Spezia and its province have been settled since prehistoric times. In Roman times the most important centre was Luni, not far from Sarzana. As the capital of the short-lived Niccolò Fieschi Signoria in the period between 1256 and 1273, La Spezia was inevitably linked with Genoese vicissitudes. After the fall of the Republic of Genoa, an independent state until 1797, La Spezia grew, developed and changed, though along lines similar to Liguria's capital Genoa. This Ligurian influence can still be seen in the urban layout as well as in the types of buildings and decorations. This is notable in the carrugio, the narrow street that divides the Old Town into two. It is called Via del Prione, taking its name from the "pietrone" or large stone, in local dialect prione, where public announcements were once read out.


title: La Spezia

text: Walking landwards from the sea it is possible to see partly hidden, but still evident, traces of history: engraved stones, capitals, and portals in fourteenth century sandstone, double lancet windows vaguely reminiscent of the future renaissance style of mannerism, baroque pediments, and decorations similar to those adorning the portals of the palaces once belonging to the Doria family and the Princes of Massa.


title: La Spezia

text: La Spezia developed substantially after 1861 when the great naval arsenal there was commissioned by the Royal government. In September 1943, after the Italian capitulation to the Allies, it was the departure port for the Italian Navy when it was ordered to steam into British hands at Malta. The Germans arrived too late to stop the departure of the fleet. During the war Italian troopships also left from La Spezia, including the "Kaiser Franz Josef", a trans-Atlantic liner launched in Trieste in 1911 for the Austrian Lloyd company, which Italy had confiscated in 1919. It was sunk in La Spezia harbour in 1944.


title: La Spezia

text: After the liberation, La Spezia became the point of departure for survivors from Nazi concentration camps. From the summer of 1945 to the spring of 1948 more than 23,000 Jewish displaced persons managed to leave Italy clandestinely for the Palestine Mandate. After lengthy vicissitudes, the ships "Fede", "Fenice", and "Komemiut" managed to evacuate everyone from the Golfo di La Spezia, to the extent that on Israeli maps, La Spezia is called "Shaʿar Zion", in Hebrew “Gateway to Zion”.


title: La Spezia

text: La Spezia has a borderline humid subtropical ("Cfa") and Mediterranean climate ("Csa"). The city enjoys hot summers, chilly damp winters and very changeable and rainy autumns and springs. The average temperatures of the coldest month (January) are minimum and maximum. In the hottest month (July) they are minimum and maximum. Average annual precipitation is , more than twice that in London. Snow is extremely uncommon. Heavy snowfalls are exceptional events: only in 1985 was a snowfall of more than recorded. Another big snowfall occurred during the night of 18 December 2009, with approximately of snow and temperatures as low as in the following nights.


title: La Spezia

text: In winter nights, if the sky is clear, temperatures may fall below zero, usually reaching about . Conversely, in summer, especially during sunny days, the temperature can easily exceed , and sometimes it reaches . Furthermore, the sensation of heat in summer is increased by the high humidity.


title: La Spezia

text: Because of its topography, the city is not exposed to winds from the north, which lap western Liguria, but to those from the southeast. These may bring heavy rain and they can reach , in rare cases causing the blocking of the port.


title: La Spezia

text: The only northern wind reaching the city is the north-eastern Grecale, common during incursions of Arctic air, when the cold air flowing over the warmer Tyrrhenian sea triggers the formation of low pressures, draining the colder and heavier air trapped in the Po Valley, behind the Apennine Mountains.


title: La Spezia

text: Today, La Spezia is the chief Italian naval base and arsenal, and the base for a navy navigation school. It is also a commercial port, with shipyards and industries producing machinery, metal products, and refined petroleum.


title: La Spezia

text: La Spezia's public transportation services are managed by ATC La Spezia, which owns urban, suburban and interurban bus routes; as well as the local trolleybus network and other services within the city.


title: La Spezia

text: The main railway stations in the city are La Spezia Centrale railway station, Migliarina railway station, and Ca' di Boschetti.


title: La Spezia

text: The Distretto Ligure delle Tecnologie Marine (DLTM) is a research hub in La Spezia, Italy, focused on blue economy. It's a partnership of more than 20 entities including Fincantieri, Leonardo S.p.A., Intermarine, Rina Service, Consorzio Tecnomar, Autorità portuale, CNR, Camera di Commercio and University of Genoa and one of the five of innovation and research hub in Liguria.


title: La Spezia

text: Both the "G. Marconi" pole and the DLTM are hosted in the old building of the Bruno Falcomatà hospital since December 2019.


title: La Spezia

text: In 2020, the local football club, Spezia Calcio, was promoted to the Serie A for the first time in their history.


title: Katie Leclerc

text: Katie Lynn Leclerc is an American actress and producer. She has appeared on several television series, including "Veronica Mars", "Fashion House, Community" and "The Big Bang Theory". In 2011, she was cast in the television show "Switched at Birth", starring as Daphne Vasquez.


title: Katie Leclerc

text: Leclerc was born in San Antonio, Texas, and grew up in Lakewood, Colorado. She is of Canadian descent. She is the youngest of three siblings. She started learning American Sign Language at 17, before she found out she had Ménière's disease, which leads to hearing loss. Her older sister also teaches ASL. Both her father and older sister have Ménière's disease as well.


title: Katie Leclerc

text: Leclerc married longtime boyfriend Brian Habecost, a real estate salesman, on September 6, 2014. In July 2017, Leclerc filed for divorce from her husband.


title: Katie Leclerc

text: Leclerc discovered her passion for acting in seventh grade when she got the lead role in a production of "Annie". She then moved to San Diego, to pursue theatre at Valley Center High School. She took part in commercials for Pepsi, Cingular, Comcast, and GE.


title: Katie Leclerc

text: "My agent submitted me for a nationwide casting call for the roles of Emmett and Daphne. I ended up getting a callback, and that's when I was asked to try a "deaf accent." It's something we discussed in depth. We wanted to make sure my portrayal was respectful and done correctly. At the same time, we felt that using a Deaf accent would be a really strong choice for the character.


title: M. Butterfly (film)

text: M. Butterfly is a 1993 American romantic drama film directed by David Cronenberg. The screenplay was written by David Henry Hwang based on his play of the same name. The film stars Jeremy Irons and John Lone, with Ian Richardson, Barbara Sukowa, and Annabel Leventon.


title: M. Butterfly (film)

text: Loosely based on true events (see Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu), the film concerns René Gallimard (Jeremy Irons), a French diplomat assigned to Beijing, China, in the 1960s. He becomes infatuated with a Peking opera performer, Song Liling (John Lone), who spies on him for the Government of the People's Republic of China. Their affair lasts for 20 years and they subsequently marry, with Gallimard all the while apparently unaware (or willfully ignorant) of the fact that in Peking opera, "Dan" roles are traditionally performed by men. At the end of the film Gallimard kills himself (although the man he is based on, Bernard Boursicot, did not do this in real life.)


title: M. Butterfly (film)

text: One theme of the film (as with the play) is Orientalist stereotypes, but Cronenberg removed many of the political overtones from the story in order to focus more intensely on the relationship between Gallimard and Song. A key line in the film is "Only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act."


title: M. Butterfly (film)

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 43%, based on 21 reviews, and an average rating of 5.60/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "David Cronenberg reins in his provocative sensibility and handles delicate material with restraint, yielding a disappointing adaptation that flattens "M. Butterfly" into a tedious soap opera." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim Yeon-Koung (, ; born 26 February 1988) is a South Korean former professional volleyball player and a former member of the FIVB Athletes' Commission. She is an outside hitter and the former captain of the South Korean National Team. She announced her retirement from the national team in August 2021.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim signed a three-year contract with Fenerbahçe in 2011 after playing for Heungkuk Life in South Korea for four seasons and JT Marvelous in Japan for two seasons. She signed another two-year extension with Fenerbahçe and extended it for another season in 2016. She spent the 2017–18 season in the Chinese Volleyball league and came back to Turkey in the following year with Eczacıbaşı VitrA.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Despite South Korea finishing in 4th place, Kim was the Most Valuable Player and Best Scorer at the 2012 London Olympics, where she set the Olympic record for most points scored (207), topping the previous record of 204 points by Yekaterina Gamova at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim is the first player in the history of Asian volleyball to receive an MVP award in the CEV Women's Champions League.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim is the first player to have four entries in the list of those to have scored 30 points or more in a single Olympic Games match in volleyball.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim Yeon-Koung was born in Ansan and started volleyball in 4th grade, initially inspired by her oldest sister who was a volleyball player. In middle school, because she was less than 170 cm (5'7"), she considered quitting volleyball and becoming a soccer player. Fortunately, during her three years at Hanil Women's High School, she grew more than 20 cm, and moved her position to an outsider hitter from her initial position of a setter and libero.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: She received the spotlight of the Korean media due to her outstanding physical condition and performance in the high school stage. As a result, she was selected in the national team in 2005. She made her international debut at the World Grand Champions Cup, where she ranked as 3rd best scorer. Afterwards, she was selected as the first choice in the first round of the V-League draft by the Cheonan Heungkuk Life, where she started her professional volleyball career.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: During her first professional season, Kim contributed to Heungkuk Life becoming the champions of the Korean League. She received every award available, including the 'New Face Award', 'Regular Season MVP', 'Final Championship MVP', 'Best Scorer', 'Best Spiker', and 'Best Server'. However, she had to receive surgery in her right knee afterwards. Before fully recovering from the surgery, she participated in the 2006 World Championship and 2006 Asian Games. Mid-competition, she suffered from serious feet pain as an aftereffect of the surgery.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Heungkuk Life became the reigning champion of the 2006–07 season with the help of Kim. The team achieved the feat of being 1st place in the regular season and winning the finals for two years in a row. Kim was selected as the MVP for both the regular season and championship, and was also the best spiker of the regular season. Immediately afterwards, she again received articular cartilage surgery. After a few months of recovery, she participated in the World Cup and played full-time.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: While she contributed to her team finishing 1st place in the 2007–08 regular season, thus receiving the MVP, her team was defeated by GS Caltex in the finals. She finished the season with the highest success rate yet of 47.59%, becoming best spiker of the league for three consecutive seasons. She received another knee surgery soon after, forcing her to miss the Olympic Qualification for the Beijing Olympics. South Korea was not qualified as a result.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: In the 2008–09 season, she became the first female player of the Korean V-League with the record of scoring 2000 points and 2000 attack points. Despite her ground-breaking performance, Heungkuk Life had a difficult season with the replacement of head coach , finishing 3rd for the regular season. However, the team had a successful post-season performance and won the final championship against GS Caltex. Kim's outstanding performance led to her claiming her third MVP title.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim signed a contract to play overseas in the Japanese V.Premier League with JT Marvelous, becoming South Korea's first professional volleyball player to play overseas after KOVO was founded in 2005. Heungkuk Life and JT Marvelous agreed on a two-year loan agreement for the player with the possibility of a one-year extension negotiated after the first season."We had been discussing a move for her since last year. We didn't think about Italy, but we contacted three other Japanese teams, including Toray Arrows, last season's champion," the Pink Spiders official Kim Hyun-do said at press conference. "JT Marvelous failed to find good import players last season, so it was the most active team seeking to sign Kim. In addition, the Marvelous promised that it will support her bid to play for Korea's national team. Though we can't announce her annual salary, the deal is worth more than $300,000," added the official. With Kim as the main attacking weapon of the team, JT, which were ninth out of 10 teams in the previous season, achieved a miraculous record in the with a winning streak for 25 games, which is second highest record after NEC Red Rockets's 31 winning streak in 2001. Kim was best scorer of the regular season with 696 points in total, leading JT to end first place in the regular season. In the championship final, the team suffered a stunning loss against Toray Arrows. Kim was voted for the 'Fighting Spirit Award' and 'Best 6'.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: During the off-season, Kim participated in the KOVO Cup in August as she was still registered for Heungkuk Life, and she led the team to victory as MVP. In September, she was part of the national team roster during the 2010 Asian Cup and became best scorer and best spiker of the tournament. Then she played at the 2010 World Championship where the team finished 13th place and 2010 Asian Games, winning a silver medal, the first medal in her career.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Despite Heungkuk Life's faltering results since Kim left, the team agreed on a loan deal with JT to let Kim play for another year, guaranteeing top-level treatment. She again led her team to becoming first place of . Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, V.Premier League ended early. JT Marvelous assumed the champion title as a result and Kim was named MVP and 'Best 6'. JT Marvelous also became the champions of the Kurowashiki Tournament, and Kim was again voted as 'Best 6'. She then participated in the Grand Prix, Asian Championship, and World Cup. She was the best scorer and best spiker of the 2011 Asian Championship.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: After the 2012 London Olympics, Kim had a dispute over her Free Agent Status with her previous Korean team Heungkuk Life. Kim and her agency claimed that she was a free agent, while Heungkuk claimed that she was still tied to the club as a player on loan, citing that she played in the Korean League for four seasons, two seasons short of the qualification as stipulated by the Korea Volleyball Association regulations. Kim countered that she had completed all six seasons with Heungkuk, noting that she played four seasons in Korea, two on loan at JT Marvelous and one on loan at Fenerbahçe.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Despite repeated attempts, the two sides failed to come to an agreement on Kim's status. Another spark started in 2013 when Heungkuk sent the official document explaining the issues between Kim and the team to the association, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea Sports Council and Korean Volleyball Federation. In that document, Heungkuk accused Kim of mispresenting the truth and using false arguments.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: " Kim and her agent asked some politicians to change the rules relaying on her fans. When that didn't work well, she insisted that she was a FA player by mentioning FIVB rules. She'd better stop abusing her popularity and thinking of herself as a privileged player. She should try to solve this problem under the right principles and rules as soon as possible."


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim and her agent hit back by saying the document had libelous statements and called it improper while both sides were still trying to solve the problem. They also explained that her contract with Heungkuk was terminated on 30 June 2012.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: "So she freely signed the contract with Fenerbahce on July 6, 2012. If she really broke the rules in July last year, KVA and KOVO must hold a committee meeting to determine punishment and announce the result. But Heungkuk solely sent the document condemning her to official organizations without following the correct procedures. She didn't extend her contract with Heungkuk because she didn't want to belong to them anymore. I wonder on what legal basis Heungkuk can claim Kim is on the team like their own property."


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: At a news conference, Kim threatened to retire from the national team if her questions were not answered. Kim made three major demands for Heungkuk, KVA and KOVO: to inquire anew to FIVB whether she has a team she originally belongs to; answer her request for issuance of an agreement of consent on her international transfer she submitted; and answer her appeal against the July 2 public disclosure of her as a "player who randomly bolted her team."


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: "If I don't receive specific answers to my appeals to the Korea Volleyball Association and the Korea Volleyball Federation, I will not only end my career in the domestic professional league but also retire from the national team."


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: On September 6, 2013, FIVB sent documents with its final decision on the issue to KVA, Heungkuk, Fenerbahçe and the Turkish Federation. The essence of the decision is the following:


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: FIVB explained that a local free agent rule of KOVO can not be applied to an international transfer, and in the case of the latter, FIVB regulations should be respected. If a Korean club has no proper contract with a specific expiration date, a player can freely sign with other clubs abroad regardless of free agent status. Heungkuk protested this decision, saying Fenerbahçe had lobbied FIVB to decide in favor of them. Kim's agency Inspokorea hit back on the alleged unofficial lobbying in a statement, urging Heungkuk to respect FIVB's decision.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: José Roberto Guimarães persuaded the team president to bring Kim to Fenerbahçe for the . He later recalls that he saw potential in her to become "one of the best players in the world" despite being relatively unknown in Europe.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: She showed a phenomenal performance in her first season playing in Europe, as she helped Fenerbahçe claim their first CEV Champions League champion title. She was awarded best scorer and MVP of the tournament, and was first in both serving and attacking as well.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: After her performance against Dinamo Kazan, said in an interview with L'Équipe that Kim was the "future Michael Jordan of volleyball", with great skills in both offense and defense.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: According to FIVB, she was regarded as the best volleyball player in the world by multiple journalists and coaches alike. One of the journalists asked Kim's opinion on who she considered second best after herself, who is "considered the best attacker in the world." At London 2012, she continued her ground-breaking performance. During the game against Serbia, Kim scored 34 points single-handedly, while her teammates scored 36 points in total. Zoran Terzić reflected that the team had "a lot of problems to make blocks and defend against her," who is "one of the best players in the world, no doubts about it."


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: For the rest of the tournament, she continued her scoring streak, showing notable performances in the game against Brazil in the preliminary round where Korea won 3-0, and semi-finals against Italy where Korea won 3-1. Korea lost to Japan in the final Bronze Medal Match, despite Kim scoring 22 points with a 47.22% efficiency rate. She was selected as Most Valuable Player of the tournament, becoming the 3rd MVP with no medal after Cintha Boersma and Barbara Jelic. After being named as the MVP of the 2012 London Olympics, Kim was also selected as one of the FIVB Heroes, which is an official campaign of the FIVB to raise awareness about the players' athletic achievements and to increase the worldwide interest in the sport.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim had a difficult time in the 2012–13 season due to her dispute with former team Heungkuk Life and her physical injuries. She decided not to have surgery for her right knee after tearing her meniscus during the match against Brazil in the Olympics. Despite such hardships, she was at the top of the statistical leaderboard in terms of scoring, attacking, and serving in the 2013 CEV Cup, continuing to show top performance. The team ultimately lost against Muszyna in the finals. Fenerbahçe finished 4th place for the Turkish League as well, and this became the only season of Kim's professional volleyball life where she finished without winning a single cup. She then participated in the 2013 Asian Championship where she was best scorer and best server.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: In the 2014 World Grand Prix, Kim topped the best score record of the tournament by scoring 42 points in the game against Russia, where South Korea won 3-1. During this tournament, Giovanni Guidetti hailed Kim as the world's best.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: "I think Kim Yeon-koung is the best player in the world. I have not seen anyone like her in the last 30 years."


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: In 2016, Kim was selected as a member of the FIVB Athletes' Commission, which is a group that works as a "link between volleyball players and FIVB". According to FIVB , Kim, being an "MVP at the 2012 London Olympic Game, is a fan's favourite all around the world," thus confirmed by the organization as a member of the Athletes Commission.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: During the 2016 Olympic World Qualification Tournament, Kim showed outstanding performance against Netherlands, helping Korea win 3-0. Netherlands head coach Giovanni Guidetti was left in awe, just like two years ago.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: "Kim Yeon-koung is something special. I have never seen anything like that in my 20 years in volleyball. We all know she is special, but that was really something."


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim was selected as best outside spiker of the tournament. At the actual Olympic Tournament two months later, the team finished in 5th place after losing to the Netherlands in the semi-finals. Contrary to her original plans of quitting the National Team after Rio, she said in an interview that she was willing to continue until Tokyo 2020.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim ended her contract with Fenerbahçe where she had spent the past six seasons, and moved to Shanghai. She led Shanghai to first place for the 2017-18 regular season, a feat achieved in 17 years for the team. After finishing runners-up in the finals, she received the Best Foreign Player Award.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: After one year in the Chinese League, she returned to Turkey and made a two year contract with Eczacıbaşı. The team won the Turkish Cup for the first time in seven years, as well as the Super Cup. For the 2019-20 season, she became the new captain of Eczacıbaşı, filling in Jordan Larson's place.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim played a decisive role in securing a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the Asian Continental Qualifiers held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The exhaustion built up from the Turkish League had led to abdominal pain during the match against Kazakhstan in the pool stage. She was diagnosed with a torn abdominal muscle and missed the semifinal match against Chinese Taipei. However, the captain reappeared in the final match against Thailand and was brilliant in the win that secured a Tokyo berth to her team. After the game, she admitted that she did not feel well and that she played after previously taking painkillers.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: After Kim's contract ended with Eczacıbaşı, various media sources reported on the possibility of her going to Beijing, or returning to Korea in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: In 2021, Kim Yeon-kyung signed a contract with Shanghai, China, where she shared the 2017-2018 season.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim is considered to be the best player of Korea since playing for the National Team since 2005, topping the score and attack statistics leaderboard in almost every single game. It is a known tactic among coaches to only focus on stopping Kim when playing against Korea, as she is their main and almost only scorer.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim has suffered from various injuries throughout her athletic career and has had four knee surgeries alone during 2006 to 2009 while playing for Heungkuk Life.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: In 2012, she tore her right meniscus during the preliminary game against Brazil during the 2012 London Olympics which was worsened when failing to land properly during the quarterfinals against Italy. Ahead of the 2012-2013 season, Kim decided to push through with only rehabilitation and not receive surgery despite various health checks that advised her to.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: In 2014, Kim broke her toenail whilst training, forcing her to miss a game against Eczacibasi VitrA ahead of playing the 100th game for Fenerbahce.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: In 2020, during the game against Kazakhstan in the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, she suffered from an abdominal injury. After receiving treatment from a local hospital, she played during the finals against Head Coach Stefano Lavarini's advice. Due to a worsened injury, she has to miss at least a month of the 2019-2020 season playing for Eczacibasi due to rehabilitation.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: In 2021, during the second game against Hwaseong IBK Altos, she sustained a thumb injury on her right hand while blocking but continued to play after receiving treatment. During the third game against Hwaseong IBK Altos, Coach Park Mihee of Pink Spiders' said in a pre-match interview that Kim herself decided to play with a taped hand. She also played with a taped hand in the championship game against GS Caltex Seoul KIXX.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: She is dedicated in youth sports development and runs a sports academy and multiple charity activities under her name. "I wanted to give back all the goodness that volleyball has given me. As time went by, I realized the importance of youth sports, since children who participate in sports activities become more sociable and healthy individuals," she said.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim created her YouTube channel on the 14th of July 2019 where she frequently posts videos to share her daily life with her fans. As of October 2021, Kim has over 1,400,000 subscribers with over 75 million views.


title: Kim Yeon-koung

text: Kim also currently has over one million followers on Instagram, making her one of the most followed volleyball players in the whole world.


title: Islamic clothing

text: Islamic clothing is clothing that is interpreted as being in accordance with the teachings of Islam. Muslims wear a wide variety of clothing, which is influenced not only by religious considerations, but also by practical, cultural, social, and political factors. In modern times, some Muslims have adopted clothing based on Western traditions, while others wear modern forms of traditional Muslim dress, which over the centuries has typically included long, flowing garments. Besides its practical advantages in the climate of the Middle East, loose-fitting clothing is also generally regarded as conforming to Islamic teachings, which stipulate that body areas which are sexual in nature must be hidden from public view. Traditional dress for Muslim men has typically covered at least the head and the area between the waist and the knees, while women's islamic dress is to conceal the hair and the body from the ankles to the neck. Some Muslim women also cover their face. However, other Muslims believe that the Quran does not mandate that women need to wear a hijab or a burqa.


title: Islamic clothing

text: Traditional dress is influenced by two sources, the Quran and hadith. The Quran provides guiding principles believed to have come from God, while the body of hadith describes a human role model attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The branch of fashion industry influenced by Islamic principles is known as Islamic fashion.


title: Islamic clothing

text: Islamic precepts related to modesty ("haya") are at the base of Islamic clothing. Adherents of Islam believe that it is the religious duty of adult Muslim men and women to dress modestly, as an obligatory ruling agreed upon by community consensus.


title: Islamic clothing

text: According to the traditional view in Sunni Islam, men must cover from their belly buttons to their knees, though they differ on whether this includes covering the navel and knees or only what is between them. Women have traditionally been encouraged to cover most of their body except for their hands and faces.


title: Islamic clothing

text: An Arabic word strongly associated with Islamic clothing and "haya" is "khimar" (), which translates into English as "veil". The veil re-emerged as a topic of conversation in the 1990s when there was concern regarding potential western infiltration of Muslim practices in Islamic countries.


title: Islamic clothing

text: Islamic dress in Europe, notably the variety of headdresses worn by Muslim women, has become a prominent symbol of the presence of Islam in western Europe. In several countries the adherence to "hijab" (an Arabic noun meaning "to cover") has led to political controversies and proposals for a legal ban. The Netherlands government has decided to introduce a ban on face-covering clothing, popularly described as the "burqa ban", although it does not only apply to the Afghan-model "burqa". Other countries, such as France and Australia are debating similar legislation, or have more limited prohibitions. Some of them apply only to face-covering clothing such as the "burqa", "chador", "boushiya", or "niqab"; some apply to any clothing with an Islamic religious symbolism such as the "khimar", a type of headscarf (some countries already have laws banning the wearing of masks in public, which can be applied to veils that conceal the face). The issue has different names in different countries, and "the veil" or ""hijab"" may be used as general terms for the debate, representing more than just the veil itself, or the concept of modesty embodied in "hijab".


title: Islamic clothing

text: Although the Balkans and Eastern Europe have indigenous Muslim populations, most Muslims in western Europe are members of immigrant communities. The issue of Islamic dress is linked with issues of migration and the position of Islam in western society. European Commissioner Franco Frattini said in November 2006, that he did not favour a ban on the burqa. This is apparently the first official statement on the issue of prohibition of Islamic dress from the European Commission, the executive of the European Union. The reasons given for prohibition vary. Legal bans on face-covering clothing are often justified on security grounds, as an anti-terrorism measure.


title: Islamic clothing

text: Ayaan Hirsi Ali sees Islam as incompatible with Western values, at least in its present form. She advocates the values of 'Enlightenment liberalism', including secularism and equality of women. For her, the burqa or chador are both a symbol of religious obscurantism and the oppression of women. Western Enlightenment values, in her view, require prohibition, regardless of whether a woman has freely chosen Islamic dress. Islamic dress is also seen as a symbol of the existence of parallel societies, and the failure of integration: in 2006 British Prime Minister Tony Blair described it as a "mark of separation". Visible symbols of a non-Christian culture conflict with the national identity in European states, which assumes a shared (non-religious) culture. Proposals for a ban may be linked to other related cultural prohibitions: the Dutch politician Geert Wilders proposed a ban on hijabs, in Islamic schools, in new mosques, and in non-western immigration.


title: Islamic clothing

text: In France and Turkey, the emphasis is on the secular nature of the state, and the symbolic nature of the Islamic dress. In Turkey, bans apply at state institutions (courts, civil service) and in state-funded education. In 2004, France passed a law banning "symbols or clothes through which students conspicuously display their religious affiliation" (including hijab) in public primary schools, middle schools, and secondary schools, but this law does not concern universities (in French universities, applicable legislation grants students freedom of expression as long as public order is preserved). These bans also cover Islamic headscarves, which in some other countries are seen as less controversial, although law court staff in the Netherlands are also forbidden to wear Islamic headscarves on grounds of 'state neutrality'. An apparently less politicized argument is that in specific professions (teaching), a ban on "veils" (niqab) is justified, since face-to-face communication and eye contact is required. This argument has featured prominently in judgements in Britain and the Netherlands, after students or teachers were banned from wearing face-covering clothing. Public and political response to such prohibition proposals is complex, since by definition they mean that the government decides on individual clothing. Some non-Muslims, who would not be affected by a ban, see it as an issue of civil liberties, as a slippery slope leading to further restrictions on private life. A public opinion poll in London showed that 75 percent of Londoners support "the right of all persons to dress in accordance with their religious beliefs". In another poll in the United Kingdom by Ipsos MORI, 61 percent agreed that "Muslim women are segregating themselves" by wearing a veil, yet 77 percent thought they should have the right to wear it.


title: Islamic clothing

text: There are many different views of Muslim women regarding the hijab. Some women believe that the hijab is too constraining, but accept other Muslim women's donning of the garment, whereas other women are against both themselves and other women wearing the hijab due to its "oppressive" nature. Furthermore, some women embrace the hijab as a way to celebrate their religion and feel that it helps them maintain their intellectuality rather than becoming a sex object in society. Some Muslim women wear the hijab because it has been part of their family tradition, and they do not want to give up something that is sacred to their family. There are women who wear the hijab who do not judge those that do not, and believe it is in all Muslim women's best interest to choose for themselves whether they will don the veil or not.


title: Islamic clothing

text: Muslim women do not necessarily view the hijab as an oppressive garment that is forced upon them. Syima Aslam, a Muslim businesswoman from England, feels a special place for the hijab in her heart and feels that it directly connects her to Islam. Although she garners some disdain and disapproval of her choice to wear the hijab from some business partners, she stands firmly by her choice to don the hijab.


title: Islamic clothing

text: Another young woman, Rowaida Abdelaziz, explains that the hijab is something that she has decided to wear herself and she "does not wear it because [she] is submissive". Sarah Hekmati says that the hijab gives her a sense of freedom and that she likes the idea that a man should know a woman through her intellectual prowess rather than her looks.


title: Islamic clothing

text: Interviewing "one of the Muslim hipster trailblazers" Hana Tajima for "Vision" magazine, writer Suzanne Elliott states that "fashion-conscious Muslims are proving that you can be cool and modest, stylish and individual without compromising faith". Tajima started her own fashion label Maysaa in 2011, and blogs about her far-reaching influences and inspirations. According to Elliott, 26-year-old Tajima "epitomises the new Muslim hipster, glamorous yet edgy, elegant yet quirky. The trend straddles the big cities of the world from London's Dalston to New York's Williamsburg – or the glitz of Dubai."


title: Islamic clothing

text: There are some Muslim women who believe that the hijab indeed hinders their personal freedom as a woman. A Muslim woman by the name of Rasmieyh Abdelnabi explains that she decided to stop wearing the hijab because she felt that it was putting too much pressure on her to "represent an entire community". She further explains that she feels that hijab is not representative of Islam but more so of the Arab culture. Another belief of some women that wear the hijab is that it could potentially "strip them of their individuality" and turn them into a figurehead for their religion. Some women do not want to have to deal with this on a daily basis, and it is another reason that some Muslim women have decided to un-veil themselves. In an article written in September 2013, Nesrine Malik explains her discontent with being forced to wear the niqab, a kind of dress that only exposes the eyes, saying, "I would rather no one wore a niqab. I would rather that no woman had effectively to disappear, from a young age, because that is the norm in her family. [...] I would rather that Islam be purged of the niqab and all its permutations." Malik is among the Muslim women who feel as though the act of veiling hides women; she would like to ban the niqab from Islam.


title: Islamic clothing

text: The former Muslim, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, wrote in her book Nomad about the veil: "(...) deliberately marks women as private and restricted property, nonpersons. The veil sets women apart from men and apart from the world; it restrains them, confines them, grooms them for docility. A mind can be cramped just as a body may be, and a Muslim veil blinkers and conditions both your vision and your destiny. It is the mark of a kind of apartheid, not the domination of a race but of a sex."


title: Islamic clothing

text: A recent incident in Germany reflects the extent of the issue on an international scale: "An administrative court in the southern German city of Munich has banned a female Muslim student from wearing a facial veil in class." Although Germany does not have an official ban on the hijab, according to the nation's highest courts federal states have permission to ban Muslim state employees wearing clothing they deem inappropriate. This rule leaves flexibility for German legislators to essentially make their own rules concerning clothing/dress in the country.


title: Islamic clothing

text: Iran is another country with strict rules on the hijab, and many women feel pressured from the government to dress in a certain style. One Iranian woman, Hengameh Golestan, decided to protest the Iranian government through her own artistic display.


title: Islamic clothing

text: The legal and cultural status of the hijab is different in different countries. Some have banned the wearing of all overt religious symbols, including the hijab (a Muslim headscarf, from the Arabic "to cover"), in public schools or universities or government buildings.


title: Islamic clothing

text: In 2017, a legal ban on covering one's face in public (primarily targeting Islamic clothing such as burqa and niqab) was adopted by the Austrian parliament. Additionally, on 16 May 2019, the Austrian parliament placed a ban on "ideologically or religiously influenced clothing which is associated with the covering of the head" in primary schools. This ban directly bans traditional headscarves worn by Muslim women worldwide.


title: Islamic clothing

text: On 31 March 2010 the Belgian Chamber Committee on the Interior unanimously approved legislation instating a nationwide ban on wearing the burqa in public. The proposal was accepted by the Chamber of Representatives on 27 April 2010 with only two abstentions from Flemish Socialist MPs.


title: Islamic clothing

text: In April 2011, France became the first European nation to ban face covering in public space. Balaclavas, face-covering niqabs, full-body burqas and carnival masks (outside carnival season) are prohibited, though hijab is permitted in public space, because it doesn't hide the face. The law was passed unanimously asserting that face-covering, including Muslim veils are contrary to the principles of security on which France is founded.


title: Islamic clothing

text: Sharp criticism had accompanied France's nearly year-long debate on banning burqa-style veils, with those opposed saying, among other things, that the entire process has stigmatized the nation's estimated 5 million Muslims – the largest Muslim population in western Europe. They also claim it is a political ploy because only an estimated 1,900 women wear veils that hide the face.


title: Islamic clothing

text: In 2015 Latvia started debates to forbid face-covering clothing with proposed fines up to 150 euro for covering face in public and up to 350 euro for forcing someone to cover face in public. Government of Latvia agreed on the law only in 2017, and forwarded it to Saeima for final confirmation. Since 2018 process hasn't moved forward and law isn't confirmed and operational yet. There are almost no women in Latvia who cover their face and many have pointed out that such law would be redundant.


title: Islamic clothing

text: The Dutch government parliament in January 2012 enacted a ban on face-covering clothing, popularly described as the "burqa ban". Offenders can be fined up to 390 euro. The prohibition does not apply to face covering that is necessary for the health, safety or the exercise of a profession or practicing a sport. Excluded from the ban are also events such as Sinterklaas, Carnival, Halloween or when a mayor granted an exemption for a particular event. Also excluded from prohibition are places and buildings intended for religious purposes. The prohibition does not apply to passengers in airplanes and airports who are traveling through the Netherlands to their final destination.


title: Islamic clothing

text: In Gaza, Palestinian jihadists belonging to the Unified Leadership (UNLU) have rejected a hijab policy for women.


title: Islamic clothing

text: Turkish women who want to wear the hijab – the traditional Islamic headscarf covering the head and hair, but not the face – to civil service jobs and government offices will be able to do so now that the Turkish government has relaxed its decades-long restriction on wearing the headscarf in state institutions. The new rules, which don't apply to workers in the military or judiciary, came into effect in 2013, and were put into place to address concerns that the restrictions on hijab were discouraging women from conservative backgrounds from seeking government jobs or higher education. "A dark time eventually comes to an end," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech to the parliament. "Headscarf-wearing women are full members of the republic, as well as those who do not wear it."


title: Islamic clothing

text: In 2011, Syrian President Bashar Assad reversed a decision that bans teachers from wearing the niqab. The move was seen as an attempt to appease Salafis as he faced down the uprising challenging his secular rule. As a symbol of political Islam, the government had banned the niqab in July 2010. Syria was the latest in a string of nations from Europe to the Middle East to weigh in on the niqab, perhaps the most visible symbol of fundamentalist Sunni Islam.