The obtained emails indicate professional librarians’ networks enthusiastically assisted with creating and promoting these events. February 2022 emails The Federalist obtained through an open-records request in June show Glen Carbon youth librarian Aimee Villet asking Saint Louis librarians to recommend drag performers to hire: “[W]ould love to offer a Drag Queen storytime at our library,” Villet wrote.

The emails show Villet also wrote seeking drag performer names from Library Director Ashley Stewart in nearby Caseyville, Illinois, which featured a drag performance last year.