South Georgia librarian is fired over LGBTQ children’s book included in summer reading display 

A Pierce County librarian is out of a job because of what she calls political pressure over a book about a transgender child that was part of a display in the library.

Former Pierce County Library Manager Lavonnia Moore doesn’t have a degree in library science but worked her way to the top over 15 years, starting as a part-time clerk.

That came to an end on June 18 when she says she was called into the office to speak with Three Rivers Library System Director Jeremy Snell, who told her she was being let go over a book that was part of a summer reading display. Moore said the book, titled “When Aidan Became a Brother” by Kyle Lukoff, was selected for the display by a child at the library.

Moore said she did not have a history of disciplinary problems or bad performance reviews.

Snell did not respond to a voicemail or emailed requests for comment. Snell told the Blackshear Times that the display of the book was the reason for the decision.

Moore said she has hired an attorney.

“It was a shock. I was shocked. I said ‘OK.’ And I broke down. In my mind, I was thinking to myself, ‘I was not going to tell a child no,’” she said.

Moore said the beginning of the end came near the start of June when she allowed parents and kids to create a display to match the theme of the Georgia Public Library Service’s summer reading program, “color our world.”

“There were books, DVDs, games, and each and every one of them had at least a hint of a rainbow on it,” she said. “Because all the kids went to find rainbows. I was just happy that the kids knew where the books were. They even took the time to go into the card catalog to find books. I’m like, ‘Oh! They used the library properly! They know how to use the library!”

“One kid put a box of crayons on the display,” she added. “I’m like ‘Dude, that’s awesome,’ and he’s like ‘I know, right?”

Moore said one of the children brought the book “When Aidan Became a Brother.” Moore said she didn’t know it at the time, but the book is about a young transgender boy whose family is expecting a new baby.

The book is written for young children and discusses Aidan’s gender identity not matching his sex at birth. It doesn’t contain anything graphic or explicit. The cover shows Aidan with his family wearing a shirt with a rainbow on it.

“All I saw was Aidan becoming a big brother,” Moore said. “I saw a family with a kid wearing a rainbow sweater and the mom pregnant. It was a mixed family. I was like, ‘OK, sure, put it on the table.’”

But the book’s placement didn’t sit well with a group called Alliance for Faith and Freedom, which made posts on social media calling on followers to write in to library staff and Pierce County commissioners.

“Please PRAY and take just a few minutes right now to email the (Three Rivers Regional Library) staff and Pierce Commissioners to encourage them to put a stop to this and show them the community supports them in taking a stand against promoting transgenderism at our local library,” the group wrote in posts on Facebook and Instagram.

The group’s Instagram post had no visible likes, comments or shares, while the Facebook post had 26 reactions, ten comments and 82 shares.

Alliance for Faith and Freedom did not respond to a request for comment.

Moore said she had no intention to promote any ideology but kept books relevant to all kinds of people in the community, including LGBTQ people, immigrants from different countries and people who speak various languages.

“The library is for everybody,” she said. “You should be able to go into any library and feel welcome or at least find something that you will enjoy reading, doing, or any resources. I know this day in time is tough, believe me, it is real tough, but the library should be one place that should not be a hurdle.”

Moore said the group has targeted her before over similar issues.

According to the Blackshear Times, the Pierce County Library left the Okefenokee Regional Library System last year, joining the Three Rivers System last July “over controversies surrounding certain sexual displays and bathroom policies.”

‘The fundamental mission of every library’

Organizations like Alliance for Faith and Freedom target libraries across the country, said Todd Cates, a library media specialist in Georgia and the recent winner of the Georgia Library Media Association’s Intellectual Freedom Award.

“They seem to be interested in removing books only that discuss LGBTQ issues or issues of people of color,” he said. “They latch onto a book based on the cover, based on the title, based on the topic. They generally don’t have any real reason to attack the book other than it talks about people of color or LGBTQ topics. They raise a stink, and politicians respond to stink.”

Cates said libraries have procedures for patrons to challenge books and he was disappointed to hear that Moore was fired.

He said “When Aidan Became a Brother” was appropriate for the library’s shelves and the display.

“That’s the fundamental mission of every library. We represent all members of our community, no matter their race, their creed, their religion, their gender, their sexual identity, their sexuality, where they’re from. My library here at my school, I have books in Spanish, I have books in Korean. I represent everybody. I have several copies of the Bible on my shelf. There’s several copies of books that would probably be considered controversial by other groups of people, but that’s immaterial because it represents the people that I serve.”

Georgia mom Lena Kotler said she’s happy when her 10-year-old transgender child Aleix can see herself reflected in the books she reads or the shows she watches.

“I want my child to see people like her, but see them living joyfully and with an in-depth life,” the Decatur mom said. “I’m a millennial. The rare times we saw anything mentioned about someone being trans or in some way gender nonconforming, it was a punchline, it was a plot twist, it was this negative thing, and I want my children to see people like them growing up to be adults who are happy and joyful and have the full life experience, the spectrum of life experience.”

But while inclusion is important, the writing still has to be good, Aleix says, and sometimes transgender characters are written as one-dimensional with their whole plot revolving around being trans.

Aleix’ recommendations for kids’ media that get LGBTQ representation right include the 2022 Disney film “Strange World” and “DeadEndia,” a webcomic and graphic novel with an animated adaptation.

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