Report: “Connecticut Library Director Resigns Due to Alleged Political Pressure Over LGBTQ+ Inclusion”

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From The Hartford Courant:

A library director’s resignation has reignited public scrutiny of town leaders’ involvement in library operations in Suffield and the legality of their practices.

After less than a year on the job, Julie Styles resigned from her role as the director of the Kent Memorial library, leaving the town with a farewell letter published in the Suffield Observer that described a political culture cultivated by town leaders that inhibited Styles’ role as director. Styles said leaders proposed that Styles tag LGBTQ+ books with warning labels and told her to “avoid putting up displays addressing current affairs or ones that represent marginalized communities,” among other suggestions.

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Styles said the reason she left was not a challenge to an LGBTQ+ book that made headlines last spring but “the way the first selectman and other members in the government of the town were treating the library.”

Styles said one of the main reasons for her departure, was a directive from Moll to begin publishing previously private information regarding library meeting room reservations, including the name and reason for the meeting.

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Connecticut Library Association President Sarah McCusker said the publication of such information is illegal.

“That’s actually a state statute,” McCusker said, referencing Section 11-25 of the General Statutes.

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