A national debate over LGBTQ books has divided this Iowa town. Two library directors have quit.

[SharonClark]

I am so sick of these people and their agenda to make everyone stupid.

The most recent one to come and go after just six months on the job, Renee Greenlee, tendered her resignation amid an outcry over LGBTQ books in the library and what some residents called a partisan agenda being pushed on their neighbors.

The library board, soporific in most locales, accepted Greenlee's resignation last week in front of about 100 residents. The meeting was so large it had to be moved from the library to Vinton's City Hall. Even in the more spacious room, the crowd stretched down a short hallway to the building's entrance. Some people stood against the walls shoulder to shoulder. Several sat on the floor to witness the apex of a years-long drama.

The controversy leading up to last week's meeting pushed Greenlee and Vinton — a town of 5,000 about 112 miles northeast of Des Moines — into the middle of a national conversation about whether books about LGBTQ and racial equality should be available to children in school and public libraries.
. . .

While several complaints and controversies preceded Greenlee's resignation, most people point to a March statement made by Brooke Kruckenberg, a parent of four children, as the catalyst for what happened next.

Kruckenberg was upset by what she called a "liberal agenda" when it came to the hiring of openly LGBTQ staff members, the addition of LGBTQ books to the library's collection, and the perceived prominent placement of those books. Additionally, she requested books about religion be equally visible and a list of storytime books be posted in advance.
. . .

source: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2022/06/15/banned-books-library-accused-pushing-lgbtq-agenda-vinton-iowa/7567013001/

[Girard442]

1. I'll contribute books about the Flying Spaghetti Monster and Cthulu.