Sumner County library board deadlocks 4-4 on contested collection policy after hours of public comment

The Sumner County Library Board failed to approve a proposed Collection and Development Policy after a 4–4 tie vote, following more than an hour of public comment that included sharply divided community testimony on whether libraries should remove or restrict transgender‑related materials.

Supporters of the proposed policy urged the board to remove transgender content from children’s sections or the collection entirely, arguing local control over library curation and citing a recent federal court ruling. Opponents said the draft policy would amount to censorship, erase transgender people from public services and risk legal challenges.

"This policy wants to prevent children and adults from being subjected to transgender characters," said Chrissy Coleman, who…