another librarian is at the center of the bitter culture War surrounding book bands and is suing a group of parents and residents for defamation and allegations made about her over lgbtq books available on the library's shelves a senior correspondent Joanna gagas reports it comes as the number of reported challenges to books is doubling I think that's why I exist in the library to be able to you know put books in the hands of the kids who need them Roxanna kaivano is a librarian in Roxbury High School who's no stranger to book challenges she's had several in the last few years but one book challenge going on now over the title genderqueer A Memoir has led to debate on social media that's gotten heated while the book's never been checked out of her library kaivano and her attorney husband Anthony kaivano say she's been defamed by parents fighting to get the book off the library shelf all of the really heinous file vitriol That She's suffering on the internet right now is really out of line I mean they are calling her things like a criminal a child predator a groomer it's something other Librarians have also seen in recent years frustrated parents directing their attacks at them they resort to social media attacks uh you know using the worst epithets you could imagine to describe the work of librarians who are simply there to serve the information needs of the students the kivanos have brought a defamation suit against the group of Roxbury parents when someone's attacked um in in accused of criminal Behavior that's not appropriate that slander uh slander defamation per se and that's we're dealing with here in this case uh you know Free Speech it's ironic we're talking about the Free Speech axis um that um students should have to these volumes and then this group of parents who believe that it's their their First Amendment right to go out and slant to somebody but both sides are accusing each other of hypocrisy and irony Corinne Mullen is representing the parents what we have seen is speech by the parents that says that she had inappropriate material that could be considered pornographic in the school library it shouldn't be the basis for a defamation lawsuit we find it to be an irony that the librarian is really suing the parents for speech that we think is protected First Amendment speech of the parents does how and where those comments are made matter yes and no so most of the comments were made in the context of Board of Education meetings to the extent that they were made there our position is that they're privileged we have those meetings so that there can be free and unfettered debate their attorneys written me a letter suggesting that um uh the comments were privileged which uh is a recognition that their the comments were defamatory but there was some kind of a an exception because they occurred occurred at aborted Board of Education meeting and there's no there's no law in New Jersey uh of which I'm aware that that would create that kind of exception if there's one thing all sides can agree on it's that the debate over these books should continue but in a proper and respectful Forum I have a conversation with the school librarian go talk to the librarian um you know talk about your objection find out why the librarian has selected that for their particular collection for kaivano that decision is always personal being able to put that book in someone's hands who might need it um that's everything to me and even if it helps one student then it's well worth it work shall keep doing as her case moves slowly towards the courts for NJ Spotlight news I'm Joanna Gagis [Music]