(Another) librarian fired

“As a librarian, I knew that this was wrong and I had to say something”: The New York Times reports on the firing of a library director in Tennessee who refused to move 100 books from the children’s section to the adult section (gift link). An excerpt:

Some board members said some of the books would encourage “gender confusion” or promote violence, including Welcome To Your Period , which discusses gender identity and refers to transgender children.

Cody York, the board’s chair, said at the meeting that such references were not appropriate for children, and warned against the effect on “a vulnerable child.” Mr. York, like other board members, did not respond to a request for comment.

Another book discussed was about the Harlem Hellfighters, an all-Black World War I infantry regiment.

The story in Tennessee is one more version of the story told in the recent documentary The Librarians (dir. Kim A. Snyder, 2025). It’s streaming, free, from PBS. As a Texas librarian therein says, “Librarians are the firewall.”