The Farmville Public Library in North Carolina dropped the logo it had used for 14 years after three residents told a town commissioner it looked too much like a rainbow, as Molly Sprayregen reported for LGBTQ Nation. The logo actually depicts an open book with each page a different color in random order—not even a complete rainbow spectrum.
Farmville Mayor Alex Joyner expressed outrage at both the decision and the process. He pointed out that “rainbows are a significant symbol of libraries across the entire U.S.” and invoked the cultural touchstone of Reading Rainbow. What troubled him most was that the change happened “in the dead of night behind a curtain” rather than through public discourse. “Choices and decisions like this should be made in the public eye and with public comment,” Joyner said.
The mayor also emphasized what’s at stake. “The library is a symbol of inclusion and is supposed to be welcome to all,” he stated. “For a handful of people to be able to decide who is welcomed and who is not here is unacceptable in my eyes.” He expressed concern that the town could be “seen on the wrong side of that decision for civil rights.” A public meeting to discuss the logo has been scheduled for November 2 at 5:30 pm at Farmville Town Hall.
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