Dedham Library Refutes Facebook Post About Removal Of DEI Books

DEDHAM, MA - The director of the Dedham Public Library on Friday assured the community that its collection of books with the themes of diversity, equity and inclusion is still active after a Facebook post Thursday saying that "the main library's children's room bookshelves have been cleaned up."

"Let's find out what's on the book shelves at school & also at Endicott," the post stated. Endicott is in reference to the Endicott branch of the Dedham Public Library.

"We still have our collection of books on diversity," Library Director Amber Moroney said in an interview Friday afternoon with Patch. "As far as I can see, no books are being purged."

Moroney said she was aware of the social media posts on the topic, which several people shared with her.

"I too have seen some of the posts," she said, noting that she lives in Dedham. "I will say that we still have a lot of very diverse on our shelves."

While she could not specify if any were checked out that have not been returned because it would violate the confidentiality of lendees, the matter was discussed at the Board of Library Trustees meeting last night.

"The board had its regularly scheduled meeting last night," Moroney said. "The post was discussed. The board fully supports diversity and will continue to have a diverse book selection."

To learn more about the Dedham Public Library, visit its website.