The National Library Board of Singapore has stopped plans to destroy and remove children’s books featuring gay and lesbian characters from its shelves. While one of the three banned titles has already been destroyed, the other two will not be destroyed and will instead be moved to an adult section of the library.
NBC News has more: “‘I have also asked NLB to review the process by which they deal with such books,” [Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob] Ibrahim said. The library had previously said that the books went against ‘social norms’, with the majority of Singaporeans appearing to be against same-sex relationships.”
The books in question include: And Tango Makes Three; The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption; and Who’s In My Family: All About Our Families. It is not clear, which book was destroyed and which remain.
The change of heart comes after fierce opposition to the ban from activists on Twitter with the hashtag #FreeMyLibrary, as well as an open letter criticizing the decision published online which collected thousands of signatures.