The small eastern North Carolina town of Farmville (population 4,512) in Pitt County is facing questions about transparency, LGBTQ+ inclusion and the role of public libraries after the town’s public library removed a multicolored logo it had used for approximately 14 years. The decision followed complaints from three residents who reportedly believed the design resembled a rainbow associated with the LGBTQ+ community.
The former logo depicts an open book with multicolored pages in shades of teal, blue, magenta, lime green, orange, purple and yellow. Unlike the traditional Pride flag, which displays distinct colored stripes in a recognizable sequence, the library’s design featured differently colored pages arranged in no particular order. The logo does not reproduce the Pride rainbow.
Farmville Mayor Alex Joyner has questioned both the decision and the lack of public discussion before the logo was removed.
“Rainbows are a significant symbol of libraries across the entire U.S.,” Joyner told local media. “I believe we all grew up with Reading Rainbow, so to see an action like this take place … is really concerning.”
Joyner’s reference to “Reading Rainbow,” the longtime PBS children’s television program that encouraged young viewers to discover books, aptly captured his concern that a longstanding library symbol had been removed without adequate public consideration.
The mayor also stressed the importance of transparency in local government, saying, “Choices and decisions like this should be made in the public eye and with public comment.”
He further explained his concerns about the library’s role as a welcoming public institution: “The library is a symbol of inclusion and is supposed to be welcome to all.” He added that allowing a small number of people to determine who feels welcome in the community was unacceptable and said he would hate for Farmville’s officials to be viewed as being on the wrong side of a civil-rights issue.
Town Manager Andrew Delonno offered a different explanation for the change. He said the library had been asked to update its logo to align with Farmville’s branding, rather than because of its rainbow-like colors. Delonno said the town had invested more than $300,000 in branding and that the library was the only town department not incorporating the municipality’s new logo.
The competing explanations have raised questions about whether the change was simply a branding decision or whether concerns about perceived LGBTQ+ support influenced the outcome.
The controversy also invites scrutiny of Farmville’s broader record on LGBTQ+ inclusion. Available reporting has not established that the town’s public library previously removed specific LGBTQ+-themed books, nor has it confirmed any documented pattern of anti-LGBTQ+ actions from the town, although Pitt County was the scene of the killing of a Charlotte gay man early last year, as reported in an article carried by Qnotes.
Residents will have an opportunity to discuss the controversy surrounding the logo at an upcoming Farmville Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, November 2, 2026, at 5:30 p.m., at Farmville Town Hall. The meeting provides an opportunity for community members to raise concerns about the logo’s removal and the process behind the decision.
Farmville is located in western Pitt County, situated in the Inner Banks region of eastern North Carolina near Greenville, which is approximately eight miles to the east. The town is recognized as part of the Greenville metropolitan statistical area.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
