This August, just as schools were getting ready to start another academic year, there was a shocking and disturbing image on the campus of New College of Florida in Sarasota: a dumpster and large boxes filled with books to be thrown away.
Many of them had come from the library of donated materials to the now-closed Gender and Diversity Center. Others had come from the school’s main campus library.
Titles included “When I Knew,” an anthology of coming out stories from LGBTQ+ writers to the H.G. Wells classic, “War of the Worlds.” New College, which has undergone a dramatic shift in identity after Gov. Ron DeSantis replaced most of the board of trustees, has said the books were removed due to water damage.
But after the image of the dumpster images went viral, the school fired its top librarian. They claimed she had not used the proper vetting process for deciding what books should be removed, even though there is documentation that she sought advice from the school’s legal counsel.
“This is just one of the reasons this year’s Banned Books Week needs special attention in Florida,” says Susan Gage, an LGBTQ+ activist, priest, and former public radio reporter.