(LifeSiteNews) — A left-wing library director in Tennessee is refusing to comply with her local library board’s directive to relocate more than 190 books away from children, for which LGBT activists are hailing her as a hero.
Last November, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett called on public libraries around the state to “undertake an immediate age-appropriateness review (over the next 60 days) of all materials in your juvenile children’s section,” to “identify any materials that may be inconsistent with Tennessee age-appropriateness laws, in violation of any federal law, including President Trump’s Executive Order, or otherwise contrary to any other applicable state or federal laws.”
Following its review, the Rutherford County Library System board voted 6-3 (with one abstention) on March 18 in favor of moving more than 190 books to adult sections, citing violent content as well as messages that “promote gender confusion.”
“I think it’s the right decision,” said area resident Edward Schmitt, who noted that the books were not gone and could still ultimately be shared with children, but their parents would get to make that decision rather than library personnel. “Move it into the adult section … If the parent wants the child to go through it, great.”
However, Rutherford County Library System Director Luanne James declared in a letter the same day that she would “not comply” with the board’s decision, which she claimed was a “clear act of viewpoint discrimination.”
“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 claimed. James, who took the job last July, previously accused board chair Cody York of seeking personal data on residents who checked out offending books, which York denied.
“The Executive Director’s refusal to implement a lawful directive of the Rutherford County Library Board constitutes insubordination,” York told WSMV. “The Board has the authority and responsibility to establish policy for the library system. When a Director refuses to carry out a duly adopted Board decision, it undermines the governance of the institution and cannot be ignored.”
The board next meets on March 30, at which point it will presumably decide whether to suspend, fire, or otherwise penalize James.
The indoctrination of children with left-wing ideology on sexuality, race, and other agenda items has long been a major concern in American public schools and libraries, from bookshelves to drag events to classroom materials to even “transitioning” troubled children without parental input. Many schools have also displayed hostility to the rights and employment of individual teachers who refuse to go along with such agendas.
The Rutherford board has also voted to formally disassociate from the American Library Association’s (ALA) guidelines. The ALA has been under fire for years due to its left-wing extremism, including drag queen story hours and tips on how to “sneak” LGBT materials to kids without parental knowledge.
The ALA’s Library Bill of Rights says books and other materials in libraries “should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation” or “because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval” and that a “person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views,” without any means of restricting access to certain material on the basis of “chronological age.”
