Gov. Chris Sununu has withdrawn his choice for state librarian over concerns about the nominee’s public opposition to book censorship.
In arguing against library restrictions, nominee Mindy Atwood was advocating a mainstream position held by many in her field, including the New Hampshire Library Association and American Library Association.
The governor’s reversal demonstrates just how perilously divisive that stance has become for some conservative and religious groups. Those groups have focused their objections on books related to gender and sexuality.
Sununu, who leaves office next month, said he will leave the nomination to Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte, who is likely to face similar pressures to choose someone who can earn the support of the Republican-led Executive Council.
Those opposing Mindy Atwood’s nomination did not focus on particular materials at the state library, but rather her role in advocating against censorship of library materials and offering recommendations on how to handle restrictions.
Atwood did not return a message seeking comment for this story. She served as a library director in Sunapee and Salisbury for 15 years before joining the New Hampshire State Library two years ago as administrator of library operations.
When Atwood applied for the job in October, she wrote, “I believe deeply in the mission of public libraries to provide free and equal access to information for everyone.”
Several state and local officials wrote letters supporting Atwood, including the state archivist, the Manchester’s library director and Sunapee's police chief, who worked with Atwood during her time there.
Retiring state librarian Michael York, who held the position for 25 years, backed the choice too, calling Atwood “highly qualified.” He called concerns raised by her critics “nonsense.”
In an interview with NHPR, York also noted that under state law, the state librarian has no authority over what materials schools and public libraries provide. Nor is the state librarian required to follow the positions of the American Library Association, which the state belonged to until York decided this year the yearly dues were not worth what the association provided.
“The 234 public libraries in the state of New Hampshire all have a board of trustees, and more than 90% of those libraries have elected library trustees," York said. “They decide what goes on in the library.” He added, “I defy anybody to show where libraries have ignored the will of their trustees.”
Sununu avoided a vote by pulling Atwood’s name after councilors voiced their own concerns to him, Sununu spokesperson Brandon Pratt said. Pratt did not respond when asked to elaborate on the nature of the concerns or say which councilors had raised them.
Executive Councilor David Wheeler, a Milford Republican, self-identified as one of Atwood’s critics. In an interview Monday, Wheeler cited presentations Atwood has given on behalf of New England and national library associations challenging censorship of library materials.
One of those was a 2023 “Unite Against Book Bans” panel discussion hosted by the New England Library Association, Atwood and other New England librarians reviewed the latest efforts to restrict library books and offered guidance on challenging book bans, according to slides of the presentation.
The slides aligned with positions advocated by not just the New England association but by the New Hampshire Library Association and American Library Association as well. But Wheeler saw it as a disregard of parental rights.
“It was her involvement and the state library’s involvement in opposing parents from keeping their kids from seeing pornography in libraries,” Wheeler said. “She was fighting parents to have any type of choice over what their kids can see.”
That argument was echoed by RebuildNH, a group that launched in opposition to COVID-19 restrictions but now lobbies on a range of issues, including on behalf of parents seeking more oversight of library books. They urged followers to contact the Executive Council about Atwood’s nomination, and claimed credit when the governor rescinded her name.
“Mindy Atwood has a history of promoting progressive library policies, including preventing school boards from removing pornographic materials,” read a post on RebuildNH’s website. “This nominee will use her position as State Librarian to continue her political advocacy efforts and undermine parents and school boards.”
Those opposing Atwood’s nomination did not focus on particular materials at the state library, but rather her role in advocating against censorship of library materials and recommendations on how to handle restrictions.
To that end, they cited the program for a June conference of the New Hampshire School Administrators Association, which included a presentation by Atwood titled, “The Challenge of the Book Challenges: How to Talk your Boards about Book Challenges.” The discussion addressed the importance of offering diverse library materials and provided information about the legal considerations of book challenges, according to the program.
Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, a Concord Democrat who said she would have voted for Atwood, called Sununu’s decision to pull her name under pressure “outrageous.” She described receiving a “deluge” of emails urging her to reject Atwood’s nomination.
“It’s very disturbing to think that a dedicated, hard-working, capable person who is highly qualified to do the job and is committed to our state library would be taken down and removed because of extremist and unsubstantiated ideological objections from political extremists,” Warmington said in an interview Monday. “I’m sorry that this happened.”
Two other Republican councilors, Janet Stevens of Rye and Joe Kenney of Wakefield, said Monday that they had not reached a decision about Atwood’s nomination but were aware of the opposition. Stevens said she requested a public hearing before the council voted.
“There were a lot of red flags but I think a hearing would have been more appropriate, and you know, it's an opportunity for folks to get their questions out,” Stevens said. “It’s one thing for me to have a discussion with someone and another for them to share their feelings. I felt there was so much controversy that we needed to have a hearing.”
The remaining member of the five-person executive council, Manchester Republican Ted Gatsas, did not return a message seeking comment.
York said the controversy over Atwood’s nomination reminded him of challenges libraries nationwide have faced in the past, including backlash to materials about same-sex parents or to Madonna’s book “Sex” in 1992. The fight to limit access to library books reminds him of the National Rifle Association’s fierce opposition to limiting Second Amendment rights, he said.
“Librarians tend to push the envelope in terms of not wanting to limit what anybody is able to say,” York said. “And that tends to rile people up. You have to have guardrails. You can't just be putting pornography on the, on the shelves, and any institution worthy of (identifying as a library) has what's known as a collection development policy.”
That policy, York said, is decided by local library directors and trustees, he said, not the state library.
