Owners of ‘Little Queer Library’ say they are targeted by LGBT books

By Brandon Truitt

WALTHAM, MA (WBZ) – The battle over the books in Waltham continues as LGBT literature comes to the fore for those who support and against its messages.

For the second time in two weeks, Waltham’s ‘Little Queer Library’ has had all of its LGBT literature erased, but curators don’t believe the books are going to their readers.

Katie Cohen and her partner Krysta Petrie have opened the “little library” in front of their house on Trapelo Road.

Cohen and Petrie have provided the library themselves since their inception in 2020. The couple decided to gear their books towards LGBT youth after hearing community feedback.

“We realized there were really few ways to get these books,” Cohen said. “They’re hard to find, they’re often expensive, and a lot of people are looking for that kind of representation. They look for each other on the pages.

Waltham Police say they are investigating the matter but refrain from saying anything criminal happened as the books can be viewed for free.

This is a point that Cohen and Petrie do not buy.

“They only pulled the stuff that was LGBT-focused or LGBT-focused,” Cohen said. “It really feels like someone is trying to censor what’s going on.”

“You can only read so many books at a time,” said Petrie, who added that there are also other “small libraries” in the area. “We have maybe five or six within a mile radius and none of them have had these kinds of problems.”

On the same day of the second book sweep, the Waltham School Committee heard a recommendation from its Library Materials Review Committee on whether two LGBT-themed books – “Gender Queer: A Memoir ” by Maia Kobabe and “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson – should be removed from public school shelves.

This committee voted unanimously to keep the books, which some community members felt were too sexual or pornographic in nature.

Following the first incident, Cohen and Petrie said they received nearly 200 book donations from the community for the “Little Queer Library.”

The couple told WBZ News they have no plans to downsize the library.

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