Librarian Suzette Baker said she faced a hard choice last year when her boss asked her to hide a book on critical race theory behind the counter.
鈥淥K, I鈥檒l look into it,鈥� Baker recalled telling her boss at the time.
But eventually, Baker 鈥� a librarian at the Llano County Public Library鈥檚 Kingsland Branch 鈥� decided to ignore the request. And she continued to vocally protest other decisions, like the ban on ordering new books. She spoke up, telling her supervisors that the library was facing a censorship attack.
By February, the pressure to keep new or donated books from the shelves increased, she said. After waiting weeks for a local library board to approve the books Baker wanted to add to her library, Baker鈥檚 boss would tell her that even donated books could not reach the shelves.
On March 9, Baker was for insubordination, creating a disturbance and failure to follow instructions.
鈥淭his change is inevitable and you are allowing your personal biases, opinions and preferences to unduly influence your actions and judgment,鈥� her dismissal documents stated.
Baker鈥檚 experience represents one of many new conflicts facing Texas librarians as book challenges continue to multiply. Many feel left out of decisions on banning books while also facing increased scrutiny from politicians, parents, and county and school district staff. Some have already quit, and others are considering it.
For those librarians working at schools and at public libraries, the pressure to keep some challenged books off the shelves is growing. And some Texas librarians say the insults and threats through social media and the added pressure from supervisors to remove books are taking a toll on the profession.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the job I鈥檝e always wanted my entire life,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淏ut then it started getting to be a place where it was hostile.鈥�
The Llano County Commissioner鈥檚 Court and the county judge, who oversaw some library services and suspended new library book purchases in November, declined to comment, as did the library system鈥檚 director, Amber Milum.
Now that Baker is no longer working at the library, she said she worries for the future of Llano County鈥檚 library system.
鈥淚mmobilized by what the future could look like鈥�
The Texas Tribune spoke to librarians in two independent school districts that have been at the center of book challenges and bans: Keller, northeast of Fort Worth, and Katy, west of Houston. One from each district spoke to the Tribune, but both asked that their names not be published because they feared harassment.
In Keller, local Facebook group pages and Twitter accounts have included pointed comments about librarians being 鈥渉eretical鈥� and portrayed them as pedophile 鈥済roomers鈥� who order pornographic books. After a particular book challenge failed, one commenter included the phrase 鈥減ass the millstones,鈥� a biblical reference to execution by drowning.
鈥淚t was heartbreaking for me to see comments from a community that I鈥檝e loved and served for 19 years, directed towards me as a person,鈥� the Keller ISD librarian said.
Parents and community members have challenged more than in Keller ISD since October, including the Bible and Maia Kobabe鈥檚 鈥淕ender Queer.鈥� The district has so far removed at least 10 from circulation, and librarians have not been able to order new books since that time, the Keller ISD librarian said.
Several successful Keller ISD board candidates ran this month on campaign promises that they would increase parent involvement in education, including looking harder at school library books.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 been a day or an hour in the last 12 months that I haven鈥檛 been frightened and immobilized by what the future could look like,鈥� the Keller ISD librarian said.
The Keller ISD librarian said she wants to talk with more parents about the books they want to ban, but so far, only one parent has reached out to her.
鈥淭his has been our experience in reality, and we still want to work together,鈥� she said. 鈥淐ommunities have to come together. We can鈥檛 keep doing this back and forth.鈥�
鈥淪hould I play it safe?鈥�
A librarian In Katy ISD said the wave of book bans has left her less confident about what new books to order for her school library.
She considered ordering a collection of short stories called 鈥淕rowing Up Trans: In Our Own Words鈥� but worried the book may be targeted for removal.
鈥淪hould I play it safe?鈥� she said. 鈥淥r should I push the envelope and get a couple and see what happens?鈥�
She worries that librarians will soon be able to fill shelves with only books included on pre-approved lists.
鈥淎re we going to get there?鈥� she said. 鈥淎re you just gonna take everything away that I came into this job wanting to do?鈥�
Just north of Austin, at Round Rock Independent School District, the pressure on librarians has been intense, says Ami Uselman, the director of library services for the district. Some of her librarians are reaching breaking points. One came to her in tears, worried about what their church would think about social media accounts calling them groomers. Another quit.
Uselman said parents are walking into schools and grilling librarians with questions about books. Some demanded records for all books purchased in the library, some 30,000 titles. Surprisingly, there鈥檚 not been one formal book challenge, she said in late April.
But Uselman鈥檚 work phone still lights up with calls, some from people outside of the district, accusing her of stocking inappropriate material in libraries. The pressure to remove books has been easing, but she worries about the next event that could ignite community anger.
鈥淭here鈥檚 just a lot of misunderstandings,鈥� Uselman said. For example, some parents mistake graphic novels as sexually explicit when instead they are picture and comic books.
鈥淚 feel like it has gotten better,鈥� Uselman said. 鈥淭he problem is just when you think it鈥檚 getting better, something else pops up.鈥�