Books Removed from the United States Naval Academy Library – a Local Perspective
Update:
Based on a news release by the Associated Press on May 21, 2025, all but 20 books have now been returned to the Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy. A list of the 20 books is not yet available, but some of the titles were not part of the initial purge of 381 items. The Department of Defense has set up an Academic Libraries Committee that is determining which items can remain in the library and decide if the withdrawn items will be sequestered or permanently removed.
The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is located on the shores of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, surrounded by Anne Arundel County, and abutting the City of Annapolis. In addition to being the state’s capital, Annapolis is a college town bustling with activities. The Naval School was established in Annapolis, MD in 1845, and it became the United States Naval Academy in 1850. It began awarding bachelor’s degrees in 1933 and admitted women beginning in 1976.
All of this to say that the community members are very involved and committed to supporting USNA and its students, faculty and staff. When something happens on “the Yard,” it impacts the community as well.
Just down the street from the Naval Academy, St. John’s College, a small liberal arts college, offers a Great Books curriculum based on the students reading all the great works of western civilization during their time at the school. The two schools are contrasting in many ways, but the annual croquet match between USNA and St. John’s College is a best dressed rivalry to match none!
National Attention Focused on the Naval Academy and Nimitz Library
Much has been written in the national and local news about the 381 books that were removed from the Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy before a visit from Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary. The stated impetus for the removal of these books was an order from Secretary Hegseth regarding compliance with President Trump’s Executive Order from January 20, 2025, regarding diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. The order is broad and general, using wording that can be interpreted in many ways. It does not mention books, publications or press at all.
Many of the removed books are not specifically about diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI. However, many are by authors who are Black, LGBTQIA+, female, or anyone who is not a white, heterosexual male. In many cases, the books are academic analysis of historical movements, situations and experiences that have brought the country to where it is today.
Who Decides?
The articles in the press don’t give a lot of information about how the titles were selected, but they don’t seem to follow the processes that are taught in library school and that are in practice in academic and public libraries. There are many reports of DOGE using artificial intelligence (AI) to make determinations about the changes they are implementing as part of the President’s agenda, but it has not been directly stated that AI was used to determine the removed titles.
The New York Times quoted a Navy spokesman as saying that civilian government officials (who are not described as librarians) used keyword searches “to target books for review.” The words searched included “gender non-conforming people,” “gender identity,” “race relations” and “racism.” The catalog at the Nimitz Library shows that books such as “Mein Kampf” by Adolf Hitler remains on the shelves leading to questions about which words were not included and why.
The Department of the Navy posted a full list of the removed books with no commentary or explanation. Many of the books are well known, and some are older and obscure, which aligns with an academic library that would carry items that provide history and context for students.
Notable titles, dating from 1992 – the present, give an overview of topics excluded:
- “Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose and the Fight for a Fair America” by Stacey Abrams “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi,
- “White Fragility: why it’s so hard for White people to talk about racism” by Robin DiAngelo
- “Ku Klux Kulture: America and the Klan in the 1920s” by Felix Harcourt
- “Lies my teacher told me: everything your American history textbook got wrong” by James W. Loewen
- “Gender Queer: a memoir” by Maia Kobabe; colors by Phoebe Kobab
- “Transgender Warriors: making history from Joan of Arc to RuPaul” by Leslie Feinberg.
Another book that was removed, “The Hate You Give” by Angie Thomas, is about young Black girl who struggles between her loyalty to a beloved uncle who is a police officer and the police brutality she sees in her own community. It is a young adult novel that was made into a popular coming of age movie in 2018 and is often discussed in high school classrooms. There are some other young adult level items listed as well. And the list goes on and on. The books are now stored in a room within the library building that cannot be accessed by students or staff. They are in limbo right now as the many changes at the federal level continue to evolve.
It is hard to come up with an academic reason why these books shouldn’t be accessible to college students who are preparing to be officers in our country’s military. Libraries have collection development policies that guide them through what to buy for their populations. The staff of the Nimitz library chose the items on the shelves following their collection development policy and using their professional judgement about what would be interesting and relevant to students and align with the curriculum. A well-rounded education that helps a student develop critical thinking and leadership skills, judgement and perspective, is one of the reasons why many people choose a service academy for their collegiate education.
All library workers also have a process that they use for “weeding” or removing books that are no longer relevant, accurate, or needed in the library, or those items that are in poor condition. This is a careful process with standards that align with the institution’s mission and goals. It’s an important way to keep the collection vibrant and useful to users.
Community Response
The members of the community surrounding USNA took the removal of nearly 400 books personally, reacting with surprise and concern. Staff and customers at Anne Arundel County Public Library (AACPL), whose service area includes USNA and the City of Annapolis, immediately spoke out and began working to help provide access to the diverse materials. As a Book Sanctuary, AACPL is committed to fighting for the freedom to read and maintain a well curated collection with many diverse viewpoints.
The Annapolis Book Club staged a read aloud of one of the removed books, Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” at a local park that is less than a mile from USNA. The book is a memoir of by the famous Black author who describes the racism, classism, and abuse that she endures during her lifetime growing up in the South and then moving to California in her later years.
Another group, including authors, civil rights leaders, military veterans, LGBTQIA+ advocates and elected officials protested outside the main gate of the Academy the same week demanding that the books be reinstated. The downtown entrance is usually open to the public with proper identification during certain hours, but it was locked during the protest.
Annapolitan William Marks, a retired Navy commander, is organizing a campaign called “Operation Caged Bird,” a reference to Maya Angelou’s book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” He is working with Jinny Amundson, owner of Old Fox Books in Annapolis to get the books into the hands of midshipmen during the upcoming Commissioning Week at the end of May. Their efforts have raised over $40,000 so far and gathered a contingent of volunteers.
Many AACPL customers started asking if they could donate books so the midshipmen can have access to them. AACPL doesn’t accept book donations, but anyone who lives or works in Maryland can get a library card at AACPL. Midshipmen, instructors and USNA staff, and other community members who live on the Naval Academy property can get library cards at AACPL – and many have! Over the past month, AACPL has received an influx of online applications for virtual library cards from people affiliated with USNA and this doesn’t include people who just walked into the library to get a card. AACPL owns some of the books that were pulled from Nimitz Library, and others can be requested through interlibrary loan.
AACPL was already working with midshipmen volunteers and doing outreach to USNA, and this has only increased the staff’s motivation to let the USNA community know what the public library has to offer. This has become more important due to the recent removal of categories of materials at the college library. The public library is ready to step up and stand by the values of intellectual freedom when faced with barriers that limit access for members of the community.
References:
Department of the Navy. (2025, April 10). List of books removed from USNA library [Press release]. https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/Press-Releases/display-pressreleases/Article/4146516/list-of-books-removed-from-usna-library/
Ismay, J. (2025, April 11). Who’s in and who’s out at the Naval Academy’s library? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/us/politics/naval-academy-banned-books.html
Loock, M. (2025, April 13). Annapolis book club stages reading of Maya Angelou book after Naval Academy library removal. Capital Gazette. https://www.capitalgazette.com/2025/04/13/annapolis-book-club-stages-reading-of-maya-angelou-book-after-naval-academy-library-removal/
The White House. (2025, January 20). Executive Order 13895: Ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/
