Report: Arkansas Librarian Fired After Opposing Book Ban Efforts to Receive $275K in Settlement
From the Arkansas Advocate:
A central Arkansas county agreed this week to pay $275,000 to the former library director who was fired after speaking against local conservatives’ push to limit children’s access to books.
Saline County announced Thursday it had reached a settlement with Patty Hector, who had been the county library’s executive director when she was fired in October 2023. County Judge Matt Brumley’s firing power came from an ordinance approved by the all-Republican quorum court, which previously urged Hector to move books with “sexual content or imagery” out of children’s reach.
Hector alleged in her 2025 legal complaint that her firing was retaliatory and violated her First Amendment right to free speech. The case was set to go to trial next week before Monday’s settlement hearing. U.S. District Judge James Moody signed off on the settlement Wednesday.
Hector said she hoped the settlement would send a message to librarians and other public servants that their constitutional rights matter.
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
Archives
ADVERTISEMENT