Email: trustees@burlingtonpl.org
More info, screens, and photos: @via_the_word_witch on Instagram

#lgbtq #library #lgbtqrights #pride #queer #bansoffbooks

I love my job and my community. I love promoting literacy and inclusivity, and putting books in the hands of kids who need them. And that has all been taken away from me.
Everyone should feel welcome at the library. Please help me fight to keep the Burlington Library a safe space for all. 11/

If you stand with the LGBTQ+ community, please consider interacting with or sharing this post or emailing the trustees. If you contact the library, know that the majority of my coworkers have either been supportive of me or completely uninvolved; it’s the director who made these decisions. 10/12

Worse yet, when a concerned member of the public emailed the director about the display's removal, he insisted that no Pride display has ever been removed (see my Instagram for screens of these emails and photos of the display). He's also banned staff from discussing what's happening. 9/

For as far back as the calendar goes, the Burlington Library has had exactly ONE children's department Pride program, and that program was two years ago. Taken together, these issues--a lack of programs, relocating books, removing displays--are extremely concerning. This is censorship. 8/12

Worryingly, this same director recently removed all teen nonfiction books about LGBTQ+ identities. Thankfully, these books were returned to the collection after a month or so, but then the entire YA NF section was relocated to a back wall of adult fiction, against the wishes of the staff. 7/12

The town then shortchanged me $500 that I had to demand back through my union. I'm grieving the termination, but it takes 6-12 months. In the meantime, I've been sharing the story online, hoping that public support will help me get my job back and will stop this from happening again. 6/12

I never did any of those things, but the director didn't care. He put me on admin leave and tried to pressure me into signing something akin to an NDA that offered me no protection should he retaliate. When I refused, he fired me. He was judge, jury, plaintiff, and executioner the whole time. 5/12

He tore into my personal life and used intimidation tactics against myself and several of my co-workers. He basely accused me of forging patron feedback supporting the display, telling falsehoods about my coworkers to try to get them in trouble, and spreading lies online to ruin his reputation. 4/12

I’m queer myself, and was/am extremely upset by this. I shared what was happening with many of my friends and family, and the situation ended up in an anonymous post in a group for LGBTQIA+ librarians, asking for support. Somehow, word of the post got around to the director. 3/12

For June 2025, I put up a Pride display with the approval of my department head. Our patrons loved it! My coworkers were full of compliments. But the director decided my rainbow streamers were “too supportive” of the LGBTQ+ community and personally tore the majority of the display down. 2/12

Yes!!! And I can’t wait!!!