Introduction

Librarians once stood for intellectual freedom and access to information, but today many prefer to suppress speech and intellectual diversity for the sake of a misguided concept of "social justice". One Davis, California library recently violated the First Amendment when they ejected a group of women discussing male athletes in female sports. Collections and programs are regularly distorted and compromised by ideologue librarians, while those watching in dismay fear to speak. Library consultant and advocate Penny Hummel breaks the silence to tell the Dorx what’s really happening in America’s libraries.

Links:

Penny Hummel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeeWeave

FIRE article on Davis library violating First Amendment: https://www.thefire.org/news/california-library-violates-first-amendment-boots-speakers-referring-transgender-women

FIRE’s letter to Yolo County Library: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/fire-letter-yolo-county-library-august-24-2023

ALA Webinar, "Transgender People In Libraries": https://elearning.ala.org/local/catalog/view/product.php?productid=1005

Does Sex Matter? panel at the Urbana Free Library, 2019: https://blog.ninapaley.com/2019/03/26/q-and-a-from-the-does-sex-matter-panel/

I Am Jazz: https://socialjusticebooks.org/i-am-jazz/

My Body Is Me by Rachel Rooney: https://www.transgendertrend.com/product/my-body-is-me/

Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/irreversible-damage-abigail-shrier/1133754701

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Gender-Queer-A-Memoir/Maia-Kobabe/9781549304002

“NO TERFS”: https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/columns/jim-dey-terf-battle-in-urbana-averted/article_cdf7ecd4-2e0d-5759-84b7-fbbe653de2a5.html