Webster resident says he defaced library copy of "Flamer" with a Sharpie, posts photos

A Webster resident published photographs Friday evening of a Webster Public Library copy of the graphic novel "Flamer" that he says he marked up with a Sharpie before returning it to the library.

Kevin Lockhart posted the photographs and a written statement to the public Facebook group "Webster NY Neighborhood Community" at about 8:30 p.m. on May 22. The post was a follow-up to an earlier post the same day, in which Lockhart said he had filed a challenge against "Flamer" at the library, removed the book from the shelf, and taken it home.

The book was on a curated display at the library this month as part of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. "Flamer," by Mike Curato, is a 2020 graphic novel about a teenage boy at a Boy Scout summer camp who is bullied as he comes to terms with being gay. Curato is Filipino American, and the book won the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature.

"Tonight I went through with my Sharpie and covered all of the X-rated graphics and dialogue contained within this disgusting book prior to returning the book to the library." Kevin Lockhart, in a public Facebook post May 22

Lockhart framed his action as a response to the book's potential impact on children: "The trauma that the content can cause to children far outweighs any potential hypothetical upside."

In the same post, Lockhart called for an ethics investigation of the librarian who acquired the book: "Whichever librarian purchased this book and allowed minors to access it should be subject to an ethics investigation." Book selections at the Webster Public Library are made by professional library staff under a written Collection Development Policy, and the published challenge process, not an individual ethics complaint, is the route the library provides for community objections to specific titles.

The two photographs attached to the post show pages from the book with comic panels and speech bubbles blacked out in marker. In a comment under his own post, Lockhart wrote: "I did not post the worst photos as they may still violate Facebook's guidelines even with the censorship added."

The Ledger is not republishing the photographs; readers can view Lockhart's post directly in the Webster NY Neighborhood Community public Facebook group. If the post is removed, you may request our archives of the post via news@websterledger.com .

The morning post

The evening post followed Lockhart's earlier announcement in the same Facebook group that he had "filed a challenge at the library against the book 'Flamer' today for X-rated content, spoke with the library director, removed it from the shelf, and took it home with me." The earlier post did not mention any plan to mark up the book.

The Webster Public Library publishes a formal book-challenge process on its website under About Us, then Policies. The Collection Development Policy and the Library Material Comment Form describe a review by a committee of librarians, a two-week reading window, and a written decision that can be appealed to the library board. The published process does not include removing books from the shelf or taking them home.

About the book

The American Library Association ranked "Flamer" among its 10 most-challenged books in U.S. libraries in two of the past three years, fourth in 2022 and fifth in 2023.

What state law says about damage to library property

New York has a library-specific statute. Section 264 of the state Education Law covers anyone who "intentionally injures, defaces or destroys any property belonging to or deposited in any incorporated library, reading-room, museum or other educational institution." The statute sets the maximum penalty at up to three years in state prison, up to one year in a county jail, a fine of up to $500, or a combination of fine and imprisonment. The Webster Public Library, chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, is an incorporated library within the meaning of the statute.

Whether any particular conduct meets the statute's elements is a determination for prosecutors, not the Ledger. The Ledger is reporting what Lockhart said he did, in his own words and photographs.

AI tools were used in drafting and research.