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An Interview with former Burlington, MA librarian Via Luino  Part of the 2025 Pride display at Burlington, Massachusetts Public Library Even though Massachusetts tends to be a safer place for LGBTQ+ rights than other places in the United States, homophobia happens here, too. This past June, Via Luino, a librarian in Burlington, MA faced backlash for making a Pride display at her library. She was ultimately fired over it. We spoke to Via about what happened, queer censorship in Massachusetts, and how censorship impacts the LGBTQIA+ community. Pleasure Pie: You were recently fired from your job at the library after the library director tore down your Pride display. What happened? Via Luino: I was a children’s librarian at the Burlington Public Library in Massachusetts, and I loved my job! One of my responsibilities was putting up displays. In June 2024, I made a Read with Pride display, featuring a rainbow of streamers and books with LGBTQ+ themes. The public adored the rainbow streamers, and the staff were full of compliments. As June 2025 neared, my supervisor and I decided that I would put up an expanded Pride display. However, the director decided that it was “too supportive” of the LGBTQ+ community—of which I am a member. He tore down the majority of the Pride display (which he initially admitted to, but later denied, both times in writing), even though it had already gotten an overwhelming amount of support from both the public and the staff. Patrons started asking where the steamers had gone and some even submitted written comments to the director, expressing their support for the displays. Rather than listening to their feedback, the director baselessly accused me of forging it. He launched an aggressive investigation into my personal life. When I reached out to HR for help, I was repeatedly denied a meeting. When I demanded to know what policy the director thought I was in violation of, I was ignored. I just kept getting called into meetings in which the director made inappropriate demands for private information. My friends’ addresses, birthdays, and the names of their employers. My call logs. My political activities. When I refused to tell him, the director said that was a sign of my guilt. These meetings continued until I went on medical leave for a major surgery at the end of May. When I returned to work in early July, I was immediately placed on admin leave and banned from entering the library—a public building—or talking to my coworkers for over a month. The director also banned the entire staff from discussing the situation with the public, even when directly asked. He tried to pressure me into signing what was essentially an NDA for me, but that offered me no protection from him. When I refused, I was terminated. Luckily, I’m part of a union, and I’ve been working with them to try to get my job back. The union contract requires progressive discipline except for in extreme cases. It even allows for someone who drives a vehicle for the town—such as a school bus driver—to come to work under the influence of alcohol five times before they can be terminated. I can’t imagine how anything I’ve done could be seen as more severe than that. The upside of this all is that many people have been on my side, some going so far as to email the library trustees ([email protected]) or the director. Patrons from the library have reached out to see if I'm okay. The Massachusetts Library Association has even agreed to write me a letter for my union case! I’m truly thankful for all the support. Unfortunately, the gears of bureaucracy turn slowly. It’s been almost three months since I was terminated, and my union case has only just now been approved for arbitration. The arbitration itself likely won’t take place until February 2026. My unemployment claim was finally approved after 11 weeks of waiting, but the library director quickly filed an appeal, so now I have to appear at a court hearing to fight on that front, too. Through it all, I’m trying to stay positive and use the time to work on my writing.
PP: Has there been queer censorship in other libraries in Massachusetts? VL: According to PEN America, there were nearly seven thousand book bans in the United States in the 2024-2025 academic year. These attacks disproportionately focus on queer and BIPOC characters and authors, usually in classrooms and school libraries. Some states have enacted or are trying to pass legislation to threaten teachers and librarians with fines and jail time for distributing books with LGBTQ+ content. One such bill (H.2042) has even been introduced right here in Massachusetts. The good news is that this bill has virtually no support, and conversely, Massachusetts may soon become the twelfth state to pass “Right to Read” legislation. Still, the Boston Globe reports that dozens of Massachusetts school districts have faced attempts to remove books in just the last year, and Somerville Public Library, Reading Public Library, and a Newton arts center recently received bomb threats for hosting Pride events. All three of these attacks targeted children. In response to these kinds of threats, Massachusetts library workers have organized the Library Safety Volunteers (LSV), a grassroot group that trains volunteer library workers in community safety and de-escalation techniques. When LSV gets a request for assistance, we send teams to provide on-the-ground support to help keep staff and attendees safe at their event. These events often—but not always—relate to Pride. LSV is a great example of how communities can work together to keep each other safe. PP: How does queer censorship impact the community? VL: Even just the threat of censorship can have a chilling effect, causing libraries and schools to self-censor before any actual challenge materializes. This is what I believe happened at my library. So far as I know, the Burlington library has never received a complaint about any of our Pride displays or programs. However, in the early spring, the director called for the removal of all of the teen nonfiction books focusing on LGBTQ+ identities, sex education, consent, and puberty from the shelves. They were placed in a staff-only space for over a month, where the public could not access them. The entire YA nonfiction collection was then relocated to a back corner of adult fiction. There are concerns that teens won’t be able to find these books in their new location, and if their circulation statistics drop low enough, that may be used to justify removing these books from the collection permanently. The problem with censorship, whether it takes the form of violent threats, explicit bans, or quiet self-censorship, is that it works to keep queer people in the closet and shrouded in shame. I didn’t realize I was queer until I was in my early 20s. The first time I encountered the term “demisexual,” I instantly identified with it, but it took over two decades for me to ever come across that word—even though I grew up in a liberal town in Massachusetts and have had LGBTQ+ friends all my life. If I hadn’t stumbled upon the term, I would’ve gone my whole life thinking I didn’t belong anywhere and that I was broken. Keeping queer representation out of books, movies, and other media makes it harder than it already is for kids to understand themselves or their friends, and it sends the message that there’s something wrong with being LGBTQ+. Bans and challenges deny youth the opportunity to explore their identities and revoke support from the whole queer community.
PP: What can people do to support queer affirming books and programming in their local libraries?
VL: Libraries love statistics! One of the best things you can do is check out books focusing on LGBTQ+ themes. We look at those numbers when deciding which books to add or remove from the collection. The same holds true for programming, so attend Pride-related events whenever you can. If your library doesn’t have any, ask for some! Look for Pride or Banned Books displays or programs, and engage with them. Teachers and librarians always appreciate a thank you for their work, too. You can also get involved on a more political level by contacting your representatives about upcoming legislation. Some bookstores, like Purple Couch Bookshop in North Andover, host postcard writing parties to ask our legislators to support our freedom to read. Avoid buying books from major corporations like Amazon or Target, who are well-known to only support queer rights when they think it will improve their bottom line. Support your local library or indie bookstore instead! PP: You’re publishing a book! What’s it about? VL: I am! All the Scattered Stars publishes on April 21, 2026. It’s a fantasy book about a sixteen-year-old girl with magical Earth powers trying to survive the sinking of Venice. Like me, the main character is on the ace spectrum, and the book features themes of feminism, queer rights, racial justice, and environmentalism. There’s found family, animal besties, and magical trees. The book is available for preorder from Barnes and Noble, and I’m working on putting together a book tour at indie bookstores around Eastern and Central Massachusetts. More information is available on my website or Instagram. All the Scattered Stars is one of the few bright spots in my life lately, and I’m wicked excited for it to come out! Comments are closed.
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