Andrew Albanese writes: “In a statement this week, the Michigan Library Association defended a local library that has been defunded by voters over the library’s refusal to pull several LGBTQ-themed books from library shelves. Patmos Library in Jamestown Township, Michigan, lost its 10-year levy renewal vote after a group of citizens organized a ‘no’ campaign in the wake of the library’s refusal to censor books, a move that will almost certainly force the library to close its doors in the coming year. ‘A local tragedy with national implications, the Patmos Library is the only library in the country that has essentially been defunded by the vote of its citizens due to its refusal to comply with censorship,’ reads a November 14 statement from the Michigan Library Association.”

Publishers Weekly, Nov. 15; Michigan Library Association, Nov. 14