In western Montana, a controversial story time at a local library led to a heated political battle—and the weakening of a beloved institution.
, Ingram linked to a Virginia school-board debate regarding these books, and vowed to scrutinize ImagineIF’s own selection policy. Adams, his fellow-trustee, replied that they needed “to get rid of those 2 books.” Brodehl, the county commissioner, promised to “fix this.”
Library workers had an important ally: Montana’s constitution, which upholds every person’s right “to speak or publish whatever he will on any subject.” The majority trustees despised “Gender Queer,” but were wary of costly litigation, and knew that the A.C.L.U. of Montana was paying close attention. When it came time to vote on the books, the board agreed to retain “Lawn Boy” , but split on “Gender Queer.
In early 2022, the Flathead County Library Alliance, a group formed by worried book lovers, organized rallies to show support for ImagineIF. A few dozen people gathered with homemade picket signs in the freezing cold outside the Kalispell branch. “Thank you for being our librarians” and “ImagineIF there was no ImagineIF,” their signs read. The library staff was shrivelling from resignations and low morale. The director position was proving difficult to fill.
At a board retreat held soon after Cummins started, the trustees and librarians arrived with very different priorities. Ingram was upset that ImagineIF had the book version of the,” but no books that criticized that project. Adams wanted to rewrite the library’s policies to give the board more say—over book displays, for instance. He also wanted to remove all references to the American Library Association, which prescribes standards for public libraries. Adams argued that the A.L.A.
In June, 2022, one of two moderate trustees left on the library board was forced by term limits to step down. Cuthbertson, who’d brought the challenge to “Gender Queer,” applied for the spot, and Cummins begged the commissioners not to appoint her. The Library Alliance recruited a number of applicants from the community, including a longtime volunteer with the ImagineIF Foundation. But, of all these candidates, the county commissioners chose Cuthbertson.
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