Hargett Letter 2025-10-31
effectiveLetter directing Tennessee Regional Library System members to undertake an immediate age-appropriateness review of juvenile children's-section materials, with final report due 2026-01-19
Tennessee Secretary of State · Tennessee
Summary
On October 31, 2025, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett sent letters to the 181 libraries in the Tennessee Regional Library System directing each to 'undertake an immediate age-appropriateness review (over the next 60 days) of all materials in your juvenile children's section' to 'identify any materials that may be inconsistent with Tennessee age-appropriateness laws, in violation of any federal law, including President Trump's Executive Order, or otherwise contrary to any other applicable state or federal laws.' A final report summarizing titles deemed inappropriate and actions taken must be submitted to the Tennessee State Librarian and Archivist by January 19, 2026. Preceded by a September 2025 letter citing Trump EO 14168 and an October 27, 2025 letter specifically flagging 'Fred Gets Dressed' by Peter Brown. State statutes cited: Tennessee Age-Appropriate Materials Act (2022, as amended 2024 by HB 843) and Public Chapter 458 of 2025 ('Dismantling DEI Departments Act'). Federal authority cited: Executive Order 14168, 'Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government' (Jan 20, 2025). Rutherford County Library System board voted 2026-03-16 to relocate 16 titles in response; director Luanne James refused to comply and was fired by the board on 2026-03-30.
Notes
Referenced by Rutherford County Library System board on 2026-03-16 as the authority for moving 15 titles from juvenile to Adult section + 1 title to Teen section (190+ physical copies across branches, 16 unique titles). Director Luanne James fired 2026-03-30 for refusing to implement. Cross-references administrative_rules record for Executive Order 14168 (federal cite). Additional primary coverage: Nashville Scene (Nov 2025), Tennessee Lookout, WBIR, Action News 5, WKRN, WSMV, WJHL. Tennessee Library Association, American Library Association, PEN America, Penguin Random House, Lambda Literary, EveryLibrary, and the National Coalition Against Censorship all issued statements criticizing the directive. Research pass 2026-04-23 revealed the Oct 31 letter is the primary directive; Oct 27 letter (the one this record originally tracked) was a preceding notification naming Fred Gets Dressed.