New College of Florida Trashes Library Books, Clears Gender Studies Program Shelves

Hundreds of books have been purged from the New College of Florida catalog — including many titles focusing on LGBTQ+, religious, and diversity subjects.

According to reporting from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the discarded books were spotted in a dumpster in the parking lot of Jane Bancroft Cook Library on campus Thursday.

Among the titles being discarded were “Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate,” “The War of the Worlds,” and “When I Knew,” a compilation of stories from LGBTQ+ people recalling when they knew they were gay.

In a statement released Thursday, New College said it was “following its longstanding annual procedures for weeding its collection,” which includes “the removal of materials that are old, damaged, or otherwise no longer serving the needs of the college.”

President Richard Corcoran wrote in a Tuesday letter to the community that the recent disposal of books was “closely linked” to structural challenges the library is facing, such as water leaks that have damaged books.

“Unfortunately, much of the coverage has been sensationalized, catering to the narratives of our critics. While the optics of seeing thousands of books in a dumpster are far from ideal, it is important to understand that the disposition of materials is a necessary process in libraries, and ensures that our collection remains relevant, up-to-date, and in good condition for our community’s use,” he wrote in the letter.

Many of the discarded books were from the college’s discontinued gender studies program, which the college’s board of trustees eliminated in 2023.

Witnesses reported that the vehicle transporting the books departed before students were notified. Historically, students have had the opportunity to buy books released from the college’s library collection, according to the Herald-Tribune.

In its statement, New College said Chapter 273 of Florida prohibits the college from “selling, donating, or transferring these materials” bought with state funds.

However, state law allows entities to get rid of state-owned tangible personal property by selling or transferring it to another government entity or a private nonprofit. The law says entities can also sell the property to the public.

New College said the removal of books “associated with the discontinued gender studies program” was separate from its routine library weeding process.

The school asserted the books primarily came from donations that had accumulated over several years, and when the books were not claimed for pickup, they were “moved to a book drop location by the library.”

Corcoran added that every book removed is “thoroughly evaluated” by a team of “highly qualified academic librarians,” and that administration “has never been involved in deciding which books are selected or deselected from the library’s collection.”

On Monday, the Herald-Tribune reported that the college had placed library dean Shannon Hausinger on administrative leave.

Director of Communications Nate March confirmed to BestColleges that Hausinger was placed on administrative leave “pending final determination of her employment in accordance with New College’s personnel regulations.”

“This action was taken after discovering that the library did not follow all of the state administrative requirements while conducting the routine disposition of materials,” he said.

However, advocacy groups have argued that New College’s actions go beyond routine disposal of materials. In a statement, the ACLU of Florida called the action “an intentional act of censorship.”

“The dumping of these books is more than just the disposal of outdated materials. It is a clear and dangerous signal of the extent to which political interference is poisoning our educational institutions,” the statement read.

“This isn’t just an attack on academic freedom — it is an all-out assault on the right to free expression, the free exchange of ideas, and the intellectual autonomy that our colleges and universities must protect at all costs.”

Notable conservatives, including Chris Rufo, a fellow at the conservative think tank the Manhattan Institute and a recently appointed trustee of New College, commended the mass book purge.

“We abolished the gender studies program. Now we’re throwing out the trash,” Rufo said on X, formerly Twitter, in response to a post showcasing the dumpster full of books.

Rufo is one of six new appointees to the school’s board of trustees installed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2023. DeSantis’ chief of staff at the time said they wanted to turn the college into the “Hillsdale of the South,” referencing Hillsdale College, a Michigan college popular among conservatives.

At the first meeting of the new trustee board, New College President Patricia Okker resigned, calling the changes “a hostile takeover.” Richard Corcoran, former state speaker of the House and Republican ally of the governor, was named as president by the trustees.

The new board subsequently eliminated the school’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including the Office of Outreach and Inclusive Excellence, as well as the institution’s 30-year-old gender studies program.

Florida is one of nine states that have successfully passed legislation limiting DEI practices in public schools. On May 15, 2023, Gov. DeSantis signed two bills related to DEI, one of which specifically focused on DEI initiatives within colleges and universities.

The legislation prohibits the state’s public institutions from giving preferential consideration for employment, admission, or promotion to individuals who show support for “any ideology or movement that promotes the differential treatment of a person or a group of persons based on race or ethnicity, including an initiative or a formulation of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

However, the law does not impose any restrictions on books within campus libraries.

The same day the books were dumped, Amy Reid, New College’s faculty representative on the board of trustees and former chair of the college’s shuttered gender studies department, announced she was leaving the institution.

“Amy Reid … rightly observed, ‘When you throw away books, you also throw away democracy,'” the ACLU of Florida said.

“This is not hyperbole. The systematic dismantling of academic resources, coupled with the political suppression of diverse perspectives, is an affront to the foundational principles of our nation. Florida’s education system should be a beacon of enlightenment, not a battleground for ideological warfare.”