It all started out well enough … about a month ago, planning for Pride Month programming, a Rogers Free Library employee circulated an email about a program she had become aware of that was being met with success in some cities where it had been held. “Drag Queen Story Hour,” in which drag queens read stories to young children, already had the stamp of approval from the American Library Association.

According to a library employee who did not wish to be named, a larger group of library staff got together and decided to pitch the program to the library’s director, Joan Prescott. Ms. Prescott approved the program, which was scheduled for mid-June.

According to their website, “Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) is just what it sounds like — drag queens reading stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores. DQSH captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models. In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real.”

The concept was created by Michelle Tea, a San Francisco author and founder of Radar Productions, a Bay Area queer literary arts organization. Since its inception, Drag Queen Story Hour has held events and opened chapters across the U.S., as well as Malmo, Sweden, and Tokyo, Japan.

According to the library employee, when the decision was made to hold the program and it was initially promoted on Facebook, the response was overwhelmingly positive, with the exception of a small but vocal number of detractors, mirroring the reaction of many communities across the country.

On Thursday, May 30, a stark message was posted on the library’s Facebook page — it was the original advertisement, white with a sparkly rainbow border — “Join us for an hour long program that promotes inclusivity and acceptance of all people with stories read by a drag queen who has been trained by a children’s librarian, songs, and a craft!” — with a red banner across it, which read “cancelled” and the message that the director and board could provide details.

Library employees were actually told of the cancellation a full week ago — Thursday, May 23 — as were sharp-eyed readers of the Fall River Herald, which printed a story on Wednesday, May 29, about their own Drag Queen Story Hour controversy, in which staff reporter Deborah Allard wrote, “Rogers Free Library in Bristol, Rhode Island, was scheduled to offer drag storytime June 15, but cancelled the event because of strong opposition. Director Joan Prescott said Bristol didn’t seem ‘ready’ for drag storytime at its library, and that it may be ‘something more diverse communities can appreciate.’ ”

Attempts to speak directly with Director Prescott by this paper were rebuffed, and she directed questions to Elizabeth Brito, chairwoman of the library’s board of trustees, who is planning to release an official statement Friday morning.

The Bristol Democratic Town Committee, whose chair, Erich Haslehurst attended the protest with his husband, Bristol Town Councilor Tim Sweeney, released a statement reading, in part, “The Bristol Democratic Town Committee is extremely disheartened to see the exclusion and silencing of our LGBTQ+ neighbors, especially as we enter the month of June, which is Gay Pride Month.”

Asked about the delay in getting the message out to the public, the library employee said that the person who manages social media for the staff was out on leave last week.

Once the event was was officially announced as cancelled, its supporters responded quickly, organizing a protest in front of the library including about 30 people with signs, chanting, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, homophobia has got to go.” Meanwhile, organizers are seeking an alternate location and believe they have secured one, as well as private funding to hold the event.

“This is intolerance, it’s a civil rights issue,” said Bristol resident Tony Morettini, one of the Thursday night protestors. “The statement, ‘not ready for this?’ Our town is imminently ready for this. We have six churches within a few blocks of each other. There is a lot of tolerance in this community, and I think people saw this as a way to show our kids a different way that people live. And it was cancelled for seemingly frivolous reasons.”

The reasons for cancellation are unclear, although the library employee did say she believed some events transpired in the last week that suggested to Ms. Prescott that a police presence might be necessary. “I guess there were some concerns about safety,” the employee said. “This is just sad. That’s the bottom line.”