Content warning for mentions of suicide.
On Tuesday's meeting with the library management, a lot was brought up. Essentially two demands were made at the end of it. To remove the book and to build policies that will help prevent this kind of material from finding its way to the public library again.
The 3 key points here are that 1) This book presents its sources as legitimate scientific journalism when there are sources that have been found unscientific by peer review. 2) That this book acts as an instruction manual for child abuse. And 3) That this book will contribute to trans youth suicide.
We were told in the meeting that a book depicting a child putting a fork in a socket had been removed previously around safety concerns. So in our minds, this shows that there is precedent for removing a book for safety concerns. Since day 1 of this campaign, I have voiced safety concerns about this book's effects on parents of trans youth and the harm they could inflict on trans youth.
The bulk of the meeting centred around how we justify this book as removable and how the library doesn't. But with the understanding of this other book's removal, the conversation shifted.
The discussion then was about how the material reality of our existence as trans people, and specifically the reality of trans men and boys' existence was being allowed to be presented as a debate or a viewpoint.
Turning trans people's existence into a debate or a discussion with different viewpoints entertains the viewpoint that some or all trans people might not exist, because of this logical failure I believe that the library staff did not realize the real-world consequences of this book's inclusion into their catalogue.
I have optimism and hope that the library administration heard us and listened to us. They plan to give us a response early next week after they meet internally.
I gave the administration the opportunity to offer a timeline as I know that these institutions have trouble making choices in a public forum. I disagree with secretive back door meetings on a fundamental level. But my idealism is secondary to the well-being of trans youth.