Conservative activists want to ban 400 books from a library — but they aren't even on shelves
A group of conservative Christians have inundated the staff and board of a public library with complaints about books they don't have
For months, a group of conservative Christians have inundated the staff and board of a public library in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, with complaints about books they didn’t want to see on the shelves.
Their list of more than 400 titles predominantly focuses on young adult books with LGBTQ characters, scenes describing sexual activity or invoking the occult.
The only problem: None of the books are in the library’s collection.
Still, the activists in this town of 2,500 people wanted the books pre-emptively banned. They fumed that the library planned to join the American Library Association, a nonprofit trade organization known for fighting censorship that local activists falsely accused of “promoting pedophilia.” They started a campaign to recall four of the five library trustees over a policy against restricting access to controversial books, putting up signs around town that read: “Our Mission is to protect children from explicit materials and grooming.”
A sign demanding a recall of the library board hangs below a "Trump Country" sign in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.Boundary County LibraryThe fervor has become so heated that the library’s director is quitting after just nine months, citing a barrage of harassment that she said made it impossible to do her job. Kimber Glidden, 51, a former bank manager turned librarian, said the stress became so bad that she developed a tic that makes her thumb quiver uncontrollably.
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