Luanne James claims that members of the Rutherford County Public Library Board engaged in viewpoint and employee discrimination by firing her for “insubordination” in 2026 after she refused demands to engage in what she considered unconstitutional censorship of LGBTQ+ books. Unlike most library patrons, James doesn’t intend to check out quietly.
On September 23, 2026, the former Rutherford County Library System director (RCLS) filed a 10-count civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee against the RCLS, the RCLS Board of Directors, and the eight members of the board who voted for her termination on March 30, 2026. Her claims include violations of her First Amendment rights to free speech by board members, who allegedly attempted to coerce and intimidate James into banning books that clashed with their personal religious viewpoints.
James, who worked in public libraries for 25 years before taking the RCLS executive director position, accuses RCLS Board Chairman Cody York of multiple instances of circumventing and manipulating appeals for challenged texts to give children’s books he believed caused “gender confusion” an adult-only borrowing classification. In addition to punitive, compensatory, and actual economic damages, James’ complaint seeks an injunction to prevent the RCLS board from committing further discrimination, retaliation, and censorship. She also filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The Monster at the End of the Book (Battle)
The past five years have seen an unprecedented increase in the number of books being challenged in public libraries. According to the American Library Association (ALA) data cited in James’ lawsuit, challenges by private individuals increased from an average of about 275 per year between 2001 and 2020 to over 3,000 annually from 2021 to 2025. For government agencies and “censorship” groups, challenges increased from 50 or so to over 5,000 during the same period. Much of the content targeted has been children’s books exploring gay, binary, and transgender themes.
Tennessee’s RCLS, which spans six branches and a bookmobile, is a government nonprofit. As an agency that oversees public institutions like county libraries, it must adhere to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA). The complaint alleges board members relied on religiously grounded objections to LGBTQ+ content and sought restrictions that violated James' First Amendment rights.
In June 2023, the City of Murfreesboro adopted the Murfreesboro Decency Ordinance (MDO), which included a section suggesting that any act considered “homosexual” could be considered “indecent” and subject to criminal and civil penalties. The ACLU challenged it in October of that year, leading to an agreed court order deeming the ordinance unconstitutional discrimination and blocking its enforcement. Murfreesboro repealed the ordinance in January 2024 and paid $500,000 for the harm caused.
However, the RCLS board had been active during the brief period it was in effect. After stating at a July 2023 meeting that it needed to bring the RCLS into compliance with the ordinance, the Board initiated age–restricted patron borrowing profiles a month later: juvenile (12 and younger); young adult (13 to 17); and adult (18 and above). Those wishing to borrow books from a profile above their age group would need written permission from a parent. The Board prohibited “child pornography” from RCLS libraries in April 2024, with the lawsuit alleging this was merely coded language to mask attacks on LGBTQ+ books.
After a search for an executive director that included a firm hired to help in the process quitting and returning a retainer in protest of RCLS policies, James was hired in June 2025 and began on July 28. She holds a Master’s in both Library Science and Public Administration. According to the lawsuit, Chairman York immediately pressured her to agree with the Board’s decisions on challenged LGBTQ+ books. York allegedly said that he wanted to “get rid of” any books on those topics and could do whatever he wanted because he had majority support of the RCLS board. This included a demand to remove the Judy Blume book “Forever” from the RCLS, despite the board previously voting to keep it.
James also alleged that Chairman York had been checking out LGBTQ+ books and keeping them hidden in his office well past their due dates so that others wouldn’t have access to them. He also reportedly told her that other board members coordinated select book challenges and instructed her to immediately remove the books without following the full reconsideration process.
In October 2025, the Tennessee Secretary of State ordered all libraries in the state to review materials in their children’s sections to ensure they complied with Tennessee code and the recently issued Executive Order 14168. According to the lawsuit, Chairman York ordered James to create a spreadsheet of each title reviewed that included the names of the RCLS employees who reviewed each title, but she refused. She also refused his demand that she describe how each title in the spreadsheet violated Tennessee Code or EO 14168, noting that the RCLS would be sued for doing so and that the Code being cited applied to public schools, not libraries.
To complete the required review, the complaint alleges, RCLS librarians reviewed over 60,000 texts, flagging about 2,200 for James to examine. Board members added more of their own and, at a February 2, 2026 meeting, gave themselves the power to move any book on the list to a different classification or remove it completely from RCLS branches. James responded by reminding the board that each title had to be submitted individually to initiate the reconsideration process.
On March 16, the board voted to remove all mentions of the American Library Association from RCLS policies over its support of such texts, including the ALA’s Bill of Rights and its “Right to Read.” During the meeting, Chairman York reiterated his anti-gender identity stance, which he’d voiced often on his social media accounts. James received a directive instructing her to relocate about 130 books from a list made by Chairman York and another board member that had not gone through the reconsideration process.
James refused, responding via email on March 18 that, because of her position and responsibility to the citizens of Rutherford County, she could not engage in what she viewed as a First Amendment violation and blatant viewpoint discrimination. The RCLS board terminated her for “insubordination“ by an 8-3 vote during a special session on March 30, 2026. After her dismissal, the board moved the books on Chairman York’s list and, on May 11, altered the age requirements, requiring borrowers of “young adult” books to be between 18 and 25.
Is There a Law Library Section?
James’ lawsuit seeks to hold the RCLS board and eight of its members responsible for discrimination, retaliation, and anticipatory retaliation for violations on the basis of sex in both Title VII of the CRA and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, along with government endorsement of favoring one religion over another under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. It also charges the eight board members with conspiracy under the Ku Klux Klan Act, alleging that they worked with anti-LGBTQ+ groups to discriminate against a protected class.
While James doesn’t ask for her position back, she’s still trying to do her job. In addition to requesting attorney’s fees and several different types of damages, she’s asking for an injunction to enjoin the RCLS board from continuing its course of action. In a 2025 ruling, a Wyoming library director ousted in much the same manner won a $700,000 award.
