By Jack Brammer
Kentucky Lantern
In a matter of a few days, nearly $1,000 has been donated to the Shelby County Public Library to replace 16 LGBTQ+ books a local church had recommended to check out and never return.
“The response to the missing books has been overwhelming and mostly positive for the library,” said Pamela W. Federspiel, the library’s executive director. “We will use the donated money to replace the books and buy more like them.”
The Kentucky Lantern reported Aug. 18 that three leaders of the Reformation Church of Shelbyville urged its members to remove books from the Shelby County Public Library by checking them out and never returning them. The books portray gay characters and historical figures or explore LGBTQ+ themes. That story was republished in the NKyTribune.
The church leaders — pastors Jerry Dorris and Tanner Cartwright and Austin Keeler, an evangelist with the church mission, Reformation Frontline Missions — defended what they call an “act of civil disobedience.”
But librarian Federspiel said the action is tantamount to “stealing.” She contacted a collection agency to retrieve the books but so far it has not been successful.
The library has “lost” 16 books valued at $410.85 since a member of the church checked them out with due dates in late June 2024. Neither Federspiel nor the church leaders have identified the library patron.
“Since the story came out, people have made almost $1,000 in donations to replace the books,” Federspiel said. “One anonymous donor gave $500, and we hear more may be coming.”
The Shelby County Democratic Party has encouraged its members to donate money to the library. In an email this week, the political party said the Reformation Church of Shelbyville “seems to believe it can remove books from the local library and not return them on purpose (at the direction of their pastor) because they have decided for all of Shelby County that some of the content should not be available for reading or even in our library.
“Is this ‘civil disobedience’ as claimed or is it theft?”
The party asks people to help the library replace the missing books by donating through shelbydemocrats.org and marking the contribution for “Books.”
Asked what the library would do if the new books are checked out again and not returned, Federspiel said she is talking to a lawyer about what precautions to take.
Asked if he would still urge removal of new books the library uses as replacements, Dorris said, “I am just an individual Christian. I will keep on saying what I think should be done.”
Dorris posted on Facebook that the removal of the books “is not theft — it is civil disobedience rooted in God’s law, carried out in love for our neighbor and aimed at protecting children.” He called the books in question “groomer material.”
He claims that under Kentucky law, failure to return a library book is not prosecuted as theft but handled as a civil matter, with fines, collection notices, or suspension of borrowing privileges.
“This is not grand larceny — it is treated like an unpaid bill. By man’s law, and more importantly by God’s, it does not belong in the category of theft,” he said.
A Kentucky law addressing failure to return a library record classifies it as a civil matter.
“The law deals with civil liability but not any criminal defense,” Dorris said.
Shelby County Attorney Carrie McIntyre said a state law — KRS 172.150 — makes failing to return library books a civil matter not a criminal offense.
“Failing to return books would make the borrower liable for double the cost thereof,” McIntyre said in an email Friday morning.
The library is in the city of Shelbyville, noted McIntyre. “I am unaware whether a report of theft has been filed with the Shelbyville Police Department.”
Police Chief Bruce Gentry could not immediately be reached for comment.
McIntyre said her office is not an investigative body. “Among many other roles, we prosecute cases that are investigated by law enforcement agencies in the county. As of yet, this particular issue has not been brought to me by anyone,” she said.
Concerning the church pastors’ urging members to remove books, the county attorney said, “I assume the church would rely on the First Amendment to defend their actions. Since they aren’t threatening physical harm or yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theater, as the law school examples like to say, I’m not sure there is anything illegal about the speech aspect of it.”
She called the issue interesting “both morally and legally.”
“Also, given the number and value of the books at issue, it is no small amount, especially for a small town library.”
Dorris, who said he has received one death threat and many vitriolic emails and comments for his stance, noted that some of his critics are using the biblical commandment “Thou shalt not steal” to attack him.
“Many who cheered riots and looting now clutch the Ten Commandments to condemn us for suggesting vile books be removed from libraries. Their sudden zeal for “Thou shalt not steal” is not love for God’s law — but hatred of it, wielded to defend perversion,” he said.
“When Christians check out such materials and refuse to return them, they are not stealing private possessions but resisting the misuse of common funds for wicked purposes,” he said.
The controversy has created a social media frenzy and has garnered national attention from various Christian, atheist, and gay organizations and news outlets.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.