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Nathan Robison points to a display on Green Flake at the Utah Black History Museum exhibit in the Orem Public Library on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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This undated photo shows a Pride Month display in the children's section of the Orem Public Library.

Courtesy Orem City

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The Utah Black History Museum bus sits in the Orem Public Library parking lot on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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This undated photo shows one of the displays featuring books with LGBTQ+ themes in the adult section of the Orem Public Library.

Courtesy Orem Public Library

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The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a national free speech group, put Orem city leaders on alert Friday.

In a letter to Mayor David Young, City Council members and Brenn Bybee, acting city manager, FIRE told the city to end the ban on book displays concerning national heritage months, end alleged retaliation against librarians — including cutting off long-held professional development benefits with the Utah Library Association — and stop a social media policy that the group says unconstitutionally censors workers.

If the mayor and council do not course-correct by June 30, FIRE warned it will initiate litigation.

FIRE’s letter cited three issues as the impetus for the organization’s action. Among the claims:

• Elected officials in Orem forbade library employees from criticizing government restrictions of book displays for Pride Month.
• City leaders also limited librarians’ free association rights by cutting off professional development support after librarians criticized the restrictions.
• City employees have a right to criticize government decisions.

“City of Orem must drop its petty retaliation campaign against librarians who criticized the city’s decision to ban gay pride and heritage month displays in libraries, or face a lawsuit,” the letter said.

The Utah Library Association would be the plaintiff if there were to be a lawsuit.

“Orem City disagrees with the claims of non-compliance with the law surrounding its library in a recent letter from an organization known as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and believes these are based on FIRE’s misunderstanding of the facts. Orem has consistently complied with all applicable laws and regulations and strongly believes in and upholds the principles of freedom of expression as well as the First Amendment rights of our employees and patrons,” Pete Wolfley, communications manager for Orem, said in an email to the Daily Herald.

The city is evaluating the letter’s allegations and will respond at the appropriate time, according to Wolfley.

“We are committed and remain open to honest and constructive dialogue to address these concerns and welcome the opportunity to engage with all parties involved,” Wolfley wrote. “We once again invite the Utah Library Association (ULA) to engage with us directly to gain a more accurate and comprehensive understanding.”

The ULA put out a statement concerning censorship of LGBTQ-themed books, noting that some of the alleged censoring came from LaNae Millett, council representative to the library. It refers to an editorial Millett wrote that ULA believes, “clarifies that the Orem City Council supports the censorship of previously planned heritage displays.”

“We recently heard from some patrons who wanted the library to return to creating displays for various heritage or diversity months,” Millett wrote in her Feb. 1 opinion piece, published by the Daily Herald. “Earlier discussions on this led to division in the community and interfered with the welcoming environment we strive for. We support city management’s decision to end discontent by eliminating formal displays. We support our librarians’ efforts to showcase a variety of the library’s vast collection.”

Ed Carter, a Brigham Young University professor of communications and a lawyer specializing in freedom of expression, previously told the Daily Herald that it must be all or nothing when it comes to a public entity like the Orem library — in other words, it cannot pick and choose which topics to promote — otherwise it could be seen as an infringement of First Amendment rights.

“It is not serving the community as well as it should be,” Carter said of the city’s policy on special displays. “Libraries should be where a full range of the community should be able to discuss.”

The act of verbally criticizing decisions by elected officials may not be retaliated against, said FIRE attorney Daniel Ortner.

“Working for the government doesn’t mean you can’t criticize it,” he said. “If Orem’s leaders don’t get that message, we’ll sue to protect librarians’ First Amendment rights to criticize the decisions of their elected officials.”

The FIRE demand letter states that “after supporting its librarians’ participation in the ULA for years, the City has stripped those benefits, forcing Orem library staff to pay out of pocket and use personal time to participate in ULA programs and activities, even while the City provides similar professional development benefits to other departments.”

Utah County cities with an established library all receive education and help as members of the ULA, including Provo, Springville, Spanish Fork, Pleasant Grove and more.

“In addition, the City has threatened librarians who dare to speak out against the City on social media with discipline for insubordination. The City’s actions violate our client’s First Amendment rights to free speech and free association,” FIRE wrote in its letter to Orem officials. “Local governments may have a say in whether and how public libraries recognize these months, but they may not punish librarians for criticizing those decisions — which is exactly what Orem’s councilmembers did.”

The city also threatened library staff with discipline or termination if they spoke publicly about the display ban, FIRE claims.

“Librarians should be able to do their jobs rather than be forced to tiptoe through the minefield of council members’ preferred political positions,” said former library employee Rita Christensen, who recounted officials’ alleged treatment of library staff to FIRE. “City leaders forced us to trade exploration and learning for government restrictions and intimidation. And if we spoke out about their decisions, we’d be severely disciplined, labeled as untrustworthy, and treated like a pariah.”

“This act of censorship is not only a disservice to the Orem community, but also an act of overreach by the city government,” the ULA added in its own statement. “The public library exists to serve ALL people, and, as an institution, the library is both a legal and a symbolic embodiment of the fundamental American value that we all have the right to self-direct, think for ourselves, read, learn, and engage with ideas and information without government interference.”

Orem’s leaders, said Gabe Walters, an attorney on the case, “need to respect their employees’ rights. Accountability is overdue in Orem, and the late fee will come in the form of a lawsuit.”

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