County, librarian settle lawsuit after firing, books debate

Campbell County this week agreed to pay former library director Terri Lesley $700,000 to resolve her lawsuit against county officials. The public library board in July 2023 voted to fire Lesley. County officials said she was fired over issues with her performance, not in retaliation for her views or speech. But Lesley in April 2025 sued county leaders and employees who she claimed violated federal employment laws by discriminating against her for her views on LGBTQ issues. She had refused to remove or relocate books with sexual content and about LGBTQ issues from the youth section, local media reported. Though the county agreed to pay Lesley as part of the settlement, the agreement did not require the defendants to admit any wrongdoing.

What else led to this agreement? Residents in 2021 began calling for the removal of some books they believed were inappropriate for young readers. But Lesley and the library board at the time largely resisted reconsidering the books’ availability at the library. In 2022, the board gained several new members and voted to cut ties with the Wyoming Library Association and the American Library Association, local media reported. After she was fired in 2023, Lesley sued a local family for defamation, conspiracy to deprive her of her civil rights, and conspiracy to prevent her from performing her duties. The family tried to have the lawsuit dismissed but a district court judge this spring ruled the lawsuit could go forward.

Dig deeper: Read Janie B. Cheaney’s opinion column about stalled efforts to restrict explicit books in school libraries.