Tennessee board fires library director who refused to comply with LGBTQ+ book purge

A Tennessee library board voted to fire its director Monday after she refused to remove more than 100 LGBTQ+ books from the system’s shelves, capping weeks of escalating tension over censorship, access, and reader privacy.

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The Rutherford County Library Board made the decision during a heated emergency meeting in Murfreesboro, where members entered executive session before returning for a brief public vote to oust Library Director Luanne James, according to local reports.

James had argued that removing or relocating the books, many of them in children’s sections, would amount to political censorship. “I stand by my decision, and I am not going to change my mind,” James said during the meeting, according to Nashville Fox affiliate WZTV.

Her refusal has drawn national attention from free expression advocates, who say the case reflects a broader campaign to restrict access to LGBTQ+ materials in public libraries.

Related: ‘I will not comply’: Tennessee librarian refuses to move LGBTQ+ books

Related: Tennessee library board meets to weigh firing librarian who refused LGBTQ+ book purge

“Tonight, Luanne James was voted out of her library director position for refusing to move LGBTQ+ books into the adult section,” said Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program.

“With a firm: ‘I will not comply,’ Luanne demonstrated her deep commitment to the freedom to read and the principles of librarianship, at a steep cost,” Meehan said. “Her story will echo from the courthouse in Murfreesboro, Tenn., across the country as emblematic of the fight against censorship and suppression.”

Questions remain about what will happen to the more than 190 books James had declined to remove or relocate, and who will take over leadership of the library system.

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The board’s chair, Cody York, had previously pushed for the books’ removal. James also alleged that York directed her to compile detailed information about patrons who checked out the materials, including names, home addresses, ZIP codes, household composition, and specific titles, raising concerns among civil liberties advocates about potential surveillance of readers.

In a letter to county officials earlier this month, James said she would not comply.

“Restricting access to these materials through subjective relocation or removal constitutes a violation of the community’s right to information and a direct infringement on the principles of free speech,” she wrote. Public comment at Monday’s meeting reflected a sharply divided community.

One speaker supporting the board’s actions told WZTV, “What their goal to do is not trying to get their own kids the books, but trying to get it into our kids’ hands, and the things that they’re feeding in these books are just straight lies.”

Another attendee criticized the decision, saying it reinforced harmful stereotypes. “This is all about making sure that people who belong to the LGBTQIA community are overly sexualized and made to seem as though they’re obscene and indecent,” they said.