Texas librarian fired for refusing to remove books that had been banned: ‘That was censorship’

Far-right culture warriors in Texas have been declaring war against books that offend them not only in public schools, but also, in public libraries. And in Llano County, Texas, librarian Suzette Baker has been fired from her position as head librarian for the Kingsland Branch Library for refusing to remove some books that had been banned.

Baker told KXAN-TV, an NBC affiliate in Austin, “The books in my library in Kingsland were not taken off the shelves. We did not move them. I told my boss that was censorship.”

According to Baker, a local group wanted to remove books they called “pornographic,” including one about a transgender teen — and Baker maintained that there was nothing wrong with that book.

Baker told KXAN, “It is her biography of her life growing up as a transgendered teenager, and obviously, this group thought that was too much for their children to read…. No one is forcing their kids to read anything.”

Leila Green Little, described by KXAN reporter Nabil Remadna as a “patron of the Llano County libraries,” speaks highly of Baker — telling the station, “I always thought she was extremely professional, very knowledgeable, has a strong character, and did her job well to the best of my knowledge.”

Little has set up a GoFundMe page for Baker, raising more than $17,000 as of March 23. And she has a problem with the way in which books are being removed from the Llano County Library.

Little told KXAN, “I have now counted 12 books that I know have been removed from Llano County Library, and I can’t get clarification from the library system on why…. There are very clear rules that should be followed with regards to censorship to books in the public library. Those rules were not followed.”