Letters: a reader on library Pride censorship, from Essex to Sheffield

We received the following letter from a reader, responding to news of Essex County Council's recent directive to librarians on Pride-related displays and social media.

Dear editor,

In a move described as Orwellian, Essex County Council's Reform leadership has written to librarians informing them that they are no longer permitted to produce social media posts or book displays celebrating Pride. While this censorship has caused a stir and highlighted the threat posed by Reform to LGBTQIA+ communities, library censorship is sadly an issue that cuts across party lines, and Reform does not have a monopoly on it.

Step forward Sheffield City Council, which in a rush of blood to the head in 2014 took the baffling decision to transfer 16 of its branch libraries out of the council's statutory library service and, therefore, out of its own control. This gave the various voluntary groups running them, some of whom have links to evangelical religious groups, carte blanche to opt out of library service celebrations for events such as Pride and Black History Month, and to decide which books are kept on the shelves and which are not.

In a nutshell, for the past decade, most Sheffield branch libraries have been doing what Essex County Council is only now doing under Reform. With Reform winning a number of seats in Sheffield at the recent local elections, pressure is mounting on the Green Party, which has taken over the chairmanship of the committee overseeing the city's library service, to rethink its approach and ensure that all Sheffield libraries, including the volunteer-led branches, support the programme of events curated by the library service in relation to Pride.

Readers can email the chair of the committee that oversees Sheffield libraries, asking that they ensure all of the city's libraries support and take part in the Pride events curated by the library service, at brian.holmshaw@councillor.sheffield.gov.uk.