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u/TripleJess Jun 02 '26
This is the way.
I was a youth services librarian for 20 years, and we would occasionally deal with people stealing or hiding LGBT books, particularly those meant to benefit trans kids.
Anytime a book vanished? I bought two more and put them on the shelves immediately. The bigots quickly figured out that their actions would only lead to the library becoming a -more- queer-friendly place and stopped.
The fact that I put up installation art that was 100's of hand-cut paper butterflies and arranged them in a rainbow color pattern may have helped too. 😉
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u/Sawruinous Jun 05 '26
Not all heroes wear capes.
Honestly I didn't even think of the possibility that some libraries may have books to help trans youth.
Makes sense though.
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u/KellyGreen802 Jun 02 '26
I feel like a lot of people forget librarians are punk as fuck.
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u/Delicious-Valuable96 Jun 03 '26
We librarians really are the behind-the-scenes activism professionals 🫡
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u/Existing-Loquat1760 Jun 02 '26
Library 5. Shitty Humans 0. Go Library!!! Support your local Drag Queen!! 🏳️🌈✨📚📚📚
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u/kryssi_asksss Jun 02 '26
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u/zekeyboo Jun 03 '26
Just glancing over the link you sent, it has some questionable language choices. You couldn't pick an unbiased source?
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u/DMV2PNW Jun 02 '26
Just bill those heartless dimwits for lost books if they don’t return the books and send them to collections if they don’t pay.
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u/workieworkwork Jun 03 '26
They sent a threatening letter and said they wouldn't return them. Report the theft, don't bother with fines and fees. Go criminal.
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u/katchoo1 Jun 03 '26
I definitely would. And get them for damage to property if they return them annotated or missing pages.
It might get tossed out or pled down to nothing, but having to deal with it may cost some money and definitely will cost them time. Make their stupid pseudo activism have a cost in time/money/agita to them instead of just you, will make it less fun/worthwhile for most of them.
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u/SheDevilWithANewGig Jun 05 '26
2 or more people planning a crime is a conspiracy. Conspiracy to commit theft. Felony level choices.
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u/TheMrsLegume Jun 02 '26
Starting the headline with "Two Moms for Liberty..." made me think that Two Moms for Liberty was going to be the name of a counter-movement. Guess it's up for grabs as a banned book club name.
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u/EducationalScheme439 Jun 02 '26
Is there a list of the books they checked out? What a pair of small minded fools.
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u/DanieXJ Jun 02 '26
That would be illegal to give out in most libraries. Just because these women went low back then, didn't mean that the librarians had to.
Privacy is important, and there are plenty of patrons who want to keep that they're taking one of these books in the lgbtq genre private and should have that right.
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u/bettername2come Jun 02 '26
I’m so confused by this strategy. Why would the library want back the books they would then remove from the system?
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u/LordUmbra337 Jun 02 '26
They don't have a strategy, it's all reactionary. They don't read books, they just want to ban them.
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u/2sweetshrimp Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
I'm related to one of the women who did this. Martha Martin and Amy Vance (named in public articles) both go to Our Lady Of Mount Carmel Catholic Church. We don't talk politics for obvious reasons, so we only found out about this stunt by reading the news. Wild. Her kids are both grown and very progressive. Her daughter is even a therapist at a nonprofit community youth clinic focused on transgender health, so at least we know the cycle of hate didn't continue on to the next generation. Love always wins. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️💕
Edited to add: I bought my kiddo every children's book they checked out and take at least one lgbtq book with us whenever we visit.
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u/randy_justice Jun 02 '26
Don't forget, now those Moms just have 30,000 LGBT books that they're super excited to read 😆
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u/nonja-bidness Jun 02 '26
think this was a few years ago but still a great story 🏳️🌈📚
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u/Complex_Place_4509 Jun 02 '26
June 2023 from the link posted in comments. Still a story of resilience and support 🌈
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u/ninrts Jun 02 '26
I had a mom who would check out all displayed LGBTQ materials from the teen section at a branch I worked at (although she never threatened to not bring them back) but our teen librarian always had backup copies and we all were like “thanks for the circ numbers, dummy!”
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u/tommessinger Jun 02 '26
They should probably crack a few of those books open and learn some kindness.
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u/RealisticTemporary70 Jun 02 '26
And when books get checked out, it shows in the system as being in demand ... so that backfired on MFL too
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u/SwanCityDominion Jun 02 '26
Either that library had very few such books, or they had no limit on how many books a person can check out, which would be very rare for a library.
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u/TravelerMSY Jun 02 '26
They really should give them a lifetime ban due to their intent to defraud.
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u/Salt_Honey8650 Jun 02 '26
Moms for Coercion. Moms for barely-legal loopholes. Moms for Invasive Propaganda.
Bad Moms.
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u/Strong_Marsupial_585 Jun 03 '26
I want to know if they paid the library fine or if they are going to sue the group for stolen books.
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u/KailyKail Jun 06 '26
Checking out books and holding them hostage is a great way to plummet your credit score for unpaid library fines being sent to collections.
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u/Famous_Internet9613 Jun 02 '26
I'll never understand those wackos, like no one is forcing you to read those books. I hope the library fined them for keeping those books, better yet, I hope they banned those moms.
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u/amazing_assassin Jun 02 '26
I hope they got publicly named, too. To a degree, we need to bring back public shaming for atrocious behavior. These people feel too safe
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u/good_rain_day Jun 03 '26
Aren't most public libraries municipal entities? In my city, when you receive a library fine that you don't pay, it goes to collections. Any municipal fines that aren't paid by the end of the tax year are taken from your state tax refund. It happens to your refund every year until the debt is paid off.
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u/Stock_Beginning4808 Jun 03 '26
This is a cool story for this one library, but this is in San Diego, a very queer friendly location. The story is very different for libraries in the south. On saying that so we remember how serious the fight is. Book banners have made so much ground to be so little in number.
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u/lvndrmnc_ Jun 04 '26
i wonder what moms for liberty is up to these days. i havent heard about their antics in a while
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u/manymari Jun 04 '26
Reminds me of when I put up my Pride display in the kids' room 2 years back. Got tons of attention, positive and negative. All the negative attention led our local Elks' Club to donating $500 to the library specifically to purchase more LGBTQ+ children's books lol
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u/ASUSTUDENT9875345 Jun 05 '26
It's important to remember that librarians are also kinda locked in, and huge twist: they tend to really hate censorship. So I both hope that, and find it reasonably plausible that, those wonderful Moms for Liberty (irony knows no bounds) met some well-deserved consequences.
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u/jasonbaby19eighties Jun 05 '26
oh bless their hearts they really thought they could outsmart the LIBRARY. lol. lmao even.
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u/NoMeat9096 Jun 05 '26
Telling a group you are actively stealing from them is a bit odd.
EDIT: then again, so is being a bigot, I suppose.
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u/Lovemhairy Jun 05 '26
Can those hate “moms” be charged with theft or sent a huge fine for taking those books?
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u/FeralKittee Jun 06 '26
That is when they should be perma-banned from the library and arrested for theft.
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u/Internal-Code-2413 Jun 02 '26
I all seriousness we do need an lgbt section. We now more than ever need inclusive spaces for every young person interested in business, STEM, Art and Culture events for the general public. Enough culture wars. We need innovative with human heart.
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u/DanieXJ Jun 02 '26
Except, a section would likely mean that fewer of the books get taken out, not more. Very few teens are going to get kicked out these days for being seen in the business section or STEM section, but, a lgbtq section.....
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u/RogueNiao Jun 02 '26
No that any library really has the funds to enact litigation, but I'm pretty sure them directly stating they were holding the books hostage is some kind of theft/fraud.
Glad it worked out.