Pickens Co. library board fires director without explanation after sweeping policy overhaul; The Post and Courier Greenville, February 25, 2026

 Spencer Donovan, The Post and Courier Greenville; Pickens Co. library board fires director without explanation after sweeping policy overhaul

 "Trustees of the Pickens County Library System voted to remove the library’s director with no explanation after nearly two hours of private discussion.

The move comes after library staff were directed by the board to review more than 86,000 books in the children’s and teen sections, an effort that is expected to last a year. The library canceled a slew of events and stopped interlibrary loans to reassign staff members’ time for the review.

Policy changes in Pickens follow recent fights over the types of books accessible at local libraries nationwide. Many of the debates have surrounded access to books that touch on themes about LGBTQ identity or racism.

During a special called meeting the evening of Feb. 24, the library’s board of trustees voted 5-2 to terminate Executive Director Stephanie Howard effective immediately. Howard, a Pickens County native, started in her role in 2019...

Howard holds a Master of Library Science degree from the University of South Carolina and has more than two decades of library management experience.

In 2025, she was given the Intellectual Freedom Award by the South Carolina Library Association. The annual award “recognizes members of our community who have contributed to an awareness of intellectual freedom and censorship issues in South Carolina libraries,” the SCLA description states."

SC librarians wore rainbow lanyards when a Pride display was canceled. Then they were fired.; The Post and Courier, June 16, 2025

 Caitlin Herrington  , The Post and Courier; SC librarians wore rainbow lanyards when a Pride display was canceled. Then they were fired.

"Despite having a seasonal display for Pride Month for years, Hinson canceled it in 2023, according to the lawsuit filed June 12.

Concerned about the discriminatory message it sent to LGBTQ+ staff and patrons, the 61-year-old Andrus respectfully vocally objected to the decision and engaged in “protected activity” — wearing a crocheted rainbow lanyard that she’d made the previous year, the suit said.

Some of her colleagues saw this as political activity, the suit claims, including one who held a closed-door meeting with Hinson before leaving their position in July 2023.

Andrus felt the elimination of the Pride display was discriminatory against her LGBTQ+ colleagues, children, patrons and public at large, according to the lawsuit. It created a “created a hostile work environment for any LGBTQ+ colleagues and colleagues with LGBTQ+ children and associates.”

Despite having more than 20 years of service with the county library and being Hinson’s second-in-command, he stopped most communication with her, she said in her affidavit.

In early September 2023, a colleague with a transgender child who had also spoken out about the display and worn a rainbow lanyard was called into Hinson’s office and fired. Andrus was called in next."

Beaufort, South Carolina, schools return most books to shelves after attempt to ban 97; CBS News, March 3, 2024

 Scott Pelley, CBS; Beaufort, South Carolina, schools return most books to shelves after attempt to ban 97

"Ruth-Naomi James: I'm a combat veteran, right? There's no way I went to Iraq thinking that when I moved back home, I would have to do this to make sure that the freedom that we fight for in this country is taken out of the hands of students and parents.

The final votes came this past December. Five books were judged too graphic in sex or violence. But 92 returned to the schools. Dick Geier says this lesson reaches beyond the classroom.

Dick Geier: Diversity brings tolerance. The more you understand what other people think and realize that what they say is important, but who they are, what their story, what their background is. The more you know that, the more you see the power of diversity. And then, be kind, and be understanding. And don't make judgments because you haven't lived their story. They have.

In the city that's lived a story of letters and learning, one book that was banned and restored was "The Fixer," a novel of antisemitism that won the Pulitzer prize. In its pages, the book's hero expresses this opinion, "There are no wrong books." "What's wrong is the fear of them."