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A former library director in Wyoming has won $700,000 in a settlement after she was fired for refusing to remove books containing content about sexual health and LGBTQ+ identities.
Terri Lesley has won $700,000 after she was fired for refusing to remove LGBTQ+ books.
A former library director in Wyoming has won $700,000 in a settlement after she was fired for refusing to remove books containing content about sexual health and LGBTQ+ identities.
Terri Lesley, director of Campbell County Public Library, was removed from her position in July, 2023 after 27 years of service when the Campbell County library board voted four to one to fire her. The board had pushed for two years to convince Lesley to remove the collection of books, which some had claimed were inappropriate for minors.
Related: Longtime Wyoming Library Director Fired For Refusing to Scrap Shelves of LGBTQ+ Books
Under the settlement, Lesley has agreed to drop her lawsuit against the state, though a separate lawsuit she has filed against the three individuals who challenged the books will move foward.
“I do feel vindicated. It’s been a rough road, but I will never regret standing up for the First Amendment,” Lesley said, via The Associated Press.
Some of the books Lesley refused to remove included Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison, This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson, How Do You Make a Baby by Anna Fiske, Doing It by Hannah Witton, Sex is a Funny Word by Corey Silverberg, and Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy by Andrew P. Smiler.
Lesley's firing came not long after the library board voted in October, 2022 to leave the American Library Association, a group that promotes libraries, and the Wyoming Library Association, its state chapter.
Related: Book bans in schools are more widespread than ever. Which states have had the most?
Books bans were at a record high two years ago when Lesley was fired — a record that has since been broken. During the 2024-2025 school year, PEN America recorded 6,870 instances of book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts, affecting 3,752 titles. They represented the work of 2,308 authors, 243 illustrators, and 38 translators.
“We hope at least that it sends a message to other library districts, other states, other counties, that the First Amendment is alive and strong and that our values against discrimination also remain alive and strong,” said Lesley’s attorney, Iris Halpern. “These are public entities, they’re government officials, they need to keep in mind their constitutional obligations.”
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