Florida library dean placed on leave after hundreds of books tossed

A library dean at a Florida college that has been overhauled by state Republicans and their allies has been placed on administrative leave after hundreds of books, many of which contained LGBTQ+ themes, were sent to a landfill last week.
A spokesperson on Monday confirmed to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, part of the USA TODAY Network, that Shannon Hausinger, New College of Florida’s dean of the library, was placed on administrative leave.
The book disposal and Hausinger’s leave are the latest developments at New College, a small liberal arts school in Sarasota that has undergone a significant transformation over the last year as Gov. Ron DeSantis has led a campaign to turn the school into the “Hillsdale College of the South,” referencing the private, conservative Christian liberal arts school in Michigan.
New leadership was installed while many students and longtime faculty fled to other universities. The new board voted to terminate the gender studies program, after which DeSantis celebrated the college as “the first public university to push back on gender indoctrination.”
On Aug. 13, hundreds of books were seen overflowing from a dumpster behind the Jane Bancroft Cook Library. Pictures and video of the heaping pile of books, many of which were on LGBTQ+ topics and religious studies, incited immediate backlash and widespread media coverage.
With the disposing of library books, New College also tossed materials from the now-defunct Gender and Diversity Center – a student-run and student-curated library of books on subjects such as the LGBTQ+ community, Black stories and women. Some of the books discovered in the trash last week include “Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate”, “The War of the Worlds” and “When I Knew,” which is a collection of stories from LGBTQ+ people recounting when they knew they were gay.
Details of Hausinger’s departure, including reason and length, were unclear as of Monday afternoon. She had been with New College since February of 2024, according to her LinkedIn profile.
New College of Florida spokesperson Nathan March said Hausinger’s leave was “taken after discovering that the library did not follow all of the state administrative requirements while conducting the routine disposition of materials.”
It’s unclear which specific state requirements were not met, but New College’s original statement from Thursday referenced Florida Statute 273 as a reason it could not donate books instead of throwing them away. However, the statute says the college could donate or sell surplus books.
Videos and images from Thursday afternoon’s book disposal have circulated the internet and garnered millions of impressions on social media as well as nationwide media coverage.
In a statement sent Monday afternoon to the college’s students, faculty and staff, New College President Richard Corcoran acknowledged the public’s frustration and concern surrounding the book disposal situation and criticized media reporting on it.
“Unfortunately, much of the coverage has been sensationalized, catering to the narratives of our critics,” Corcoran wrote. “While the optics of seeing thousands of books in a dumpster are far from ideal, it is important to understand that the disposition of materials is a necessary process in libraries, and ensures that our collection remains relevant, up-to-date, and in good condition for our community’s use.”
Contributing: C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY Network; Christopher Cann, USA TODAY