Springfield library creates archive documenting LGBTQ community’s role in local history; KY3, June 25, 2026

 KY3 Staff, KY3; Springfield library creates archive documenting LGBTQ community’s role in local history

 "In honor of Pride Month, local history and genealogy staff at the Springfield-Greene County Library have started creating an archive of the LGBTQ community’s role in Springfield history.

The staff describes the archive as incomplete, pointing to the historical erasure of the community’s contributions.

Library staff says people of various gender identities and sexual orientations have existed for a long time. But intolerance, fear for one’s life, and legal persecution have resulted in their stories going unheard or being lost over time.

The archive details some of the stories that have survived."

Missouri could jail librarians for lending 'age-inappropriate' books; The Guardian, January 16, 2020

Alison Flood, The Guardian; Missouri could jail librarians for lending 'age-inappropriate' books

"A Missouri bill intended to bar libraries in the US state from stocking “age-inappropriate sexual material” for children has been described by critics as “a shockingly transparent attempt to legalise book banning” that could land librarians who refuse to comply with it in jail. 

Under the parental oversight of public libraries bill, which has been proposed by Missouri Republican Ben Baker, panels of parents would be elected to evaluate whether books are appropriate for children. Public hearings would then be held by the boards to ask for suggestions of potentially inappropriate books, with public libraries that allow minors access to such titles to have their funding stripped. Librarians who refuse to comply could be fined and imprisoned for up to one year."