Luanne James, director of Tennessee’s Rutherford County Library System (RCLS), is defying the library’s board by refusing to shield over 100 books – many of which contain LGBTQ+ content – from young readers.

“I will not comply,” James wrote in a letter to the board, calling its directive “a clear act of viewpoint discrimination” and a violation of the First Amendment.

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“Public libraries serve as vital repositories of diverse ideas, both popular and unpopular,” James continued, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Advocate. “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.”

“Our libraries are funded by and for the citizens; therefore, the right to access information–free from government interference–is a protected hallmark of our democracy.”

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The board voted 8-3 last week to relocate the children’s books to the adult section – the result of a statewide “age-appropriateness review” ordered last year by Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R).

At the contentious meeting where the board voted to move the books, board chair Cory York declared, “I would argue that gender confusion [is] the idea of telling someone that boys aren’t really boys, they can be girls, and girls aren’t really girls, they can be boys, and that you should advocate for [or] encourage the dismembering of healthy sex organs. I don’t think that that’s appropriate for children.”

York said in a statement to WSMV that James’s refusal to comply “constitutes insubordination.”

“The Board has the authority and responsibility to establish policy for the library system,” York continued. “When a Director refuses to carry out a duly adopted Board decision, it undermines the governance of the institution and cannot be ignored.”

Community leaders, however, stood staunchly with James.

“Luanne James is the epitome of a true American Patriot,” said Keri Lambert, Vice President of the Rutherford County Library Alliance (RCLA), an organization fighting for “intellectual freedom and unrestricted access to information within the public library system of Rutherford County, Tennessee.”

“She is demonstrating to the world the importance of professional librarians in our communities. The bravery to stand up and say, ‘No, I will not violate my ethics and go against the Constitution of the United States,’ is the kind of leadership we need to see more of. She is an inspiration to all, and I could not be more thankful that she is a member of our community.”

RCLA communications director Tatiana Silvas called James “incredible.”

“This courageous leadership is exactly what Rutherford County is looking for and all of us at RCLA couldn’t be more proud of her,” Silvas said. “She’s a hero, there’s no other way to describe her.”

York threatened “serious disciplinary consideration, up to and including termination.”

The board also voted at the meeting to cut ties with the American Library Association and thus is no longer adhering to its code of ethics, which includes directives like, “We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources” and “We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.”

The board will hold a public meeting on March 30th to determine its next steps.

This is not the first time James and York have clashed. In December, James accused him of directing her to remove books without following certain protocol and also of asking her to provide the personal information of library patrons. York reportedly denied any wrongdoing.

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