State Group Leaves Library Association Over ‘Marxist Lesbian’ President

The Montana State Library (MSL) Commission voted Tuesday to leave the largest national library association in the country over concerns about its “Marxist lesbian” president.

In June, the Montana State Library Commissioner Tom Burnett suggested that the commission meet in July to vote on whether it will stay in the American Library Association (ALA) following a resurfaced tweet by the president who called herself a “Marxist lesbian,” according to the Daily Montanan. The Montana State Library Commission voted 5-1 to leave the national association, becoming the first state to do so. 

“We immediately withdraw from the ALA and discontinue any further payments except for existing contracts to it or its subsidiaries,” the commission wrote in a statement during the meeting. “The purpose of this letter is to announce the MSL immediate separation from the ALA. Our oath of office and resulting duty to the Constitution forbids association with an organization led by a Marxist.”

In April, Emily Drabinski, a former City University of New York Graduate Center librarian, was elected president of the ALA for the 2022-2023 term, according to the College Fix, an outlet that reports on higher education. 

“I just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is president elect of ALA,” Drabinski wrote in a non-deleted tweet, according to the College Fix. “I am so excited for what we will do together. Solidarity. And my mom is so proud. I love you mom.”

Drabinski’s campaign focused on obtaining “collective organizing for collective power,” implementing a “green new deal for libraries” and working towards “equity and justice central to global exchange,” according to the American Libraries magazine.

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A membership with the ALA includes professional development courses as well as “access to top-notch resources [and] tools,” its website stays. In April, the association touted its efforts to defend pornographic books in schools, releasing a list of the most challenged content in an effort to recognize the “brave authors.”

“I’ve had personal conversations with her about how I believe her comments are impacting libraries around the country and the relationship with the American Library Association to libraries, so I support the commission taking a stand,” Jennie Stapp, a Montana librarian, told the outlet.

Across the country, public and school libraries have come under fire as parents, educators and teachers debate whether books featuring sexually explicit material be available to students; a Virginia town board voted to partially freeze funding to a public library after sexually explicit content was found in the kid’s section. In June, the ALA announced that it would spend at least $1 million to challenge parents in court who challenge explicit content within libraries, according to the American Libraries Magazine.

The ALA and the Montana State Library Commission didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.