THE National Library of Scotland has dismissed claims it “banned” a book written by gender-critical campaigners.
The institution came under fire after media claims that The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht – a collection of essays written by activists including JK Rowling, former MP Joanna Cherry KC, and MSP Ash Regan – had been excluded from a major exhibition.
The Times ran a front page headline which read: “Censorship row as library bans gender-critical book.”
The paper further reported that the National Library had “banned a book about feminists’ fight against Nicola Sturgeon’s gender self-ID law”.
The claims centred on the “Dear Library” exhibition, in which 200 books out of 523 nominated by the public were selected for display to mark the library’s 100th anniversary.
The other 323 books – one of which was The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht – were placed on shelves in an open reading room, according to the National Library.
Refuting that amounted to a ban, a spokesperson for the institution said: "Anyone can visit our reading rooms and access this book as well as the 200 other titles that were not selected for display. A full list of those publications is available as part of the exhibition.
“Libraries are vital places where people can access all kinds of publications for free, and form their own opinions.”
However, bosses at the library decided not to give the gender-critical book a prominent slot after concerns were raised by the LGBT+ staff network.
The network had warned on May 27 that they would have “no choice” but to notify LGBT+ groups of the library’s “endorsement” if it went on display.
The previous week, an Equality Impact Assessment had said that excluding the book risked allegations of censorship – but said that there would be a risk of backlash and protest if it was included.
National Library of Scotland chief executive Amina Shah said the book should not be included in the most public-facing display due to “the potential impact on key stakeholders and the reputation of the library”. Drummond Bone, the chair of the board, agreed.
Susan Dalgety and Lucy Hunter Blackburn, who edited The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht, wrote to National Library bosses with their concerns.
“You felt unable to stand up to these threats from some of your staff, who also invoked the risk of further disruption from external activists, other parts of the local literary establishment and possibly your funders. In response, you sacrificed our book, and your principles,” the pair said.
