They returned the books. I guess they realized that it would constitute as theft, and decided not to get arrested over it. Or they have no backbone. Who knows.
I hate the fact that there's a stand for the books that is this prominent. If someone is closeted and wants to borrow one, there's no chance in hell to do it discreetly. It's like a big neon sign... Very inconsiderate if you ask me.
And I'm sure they have a copy of each book on the display on their regular shelves, and it's more like "hey, here's some LGBT+ books we have, there's more on the shelves."
If that was the only place you could get pride books? Sure
But I can only assume that there are other pride books around the library, and I think having a designated pride section is good for those who want it.
And likely this was just for Pride month, and anyone wanting the books who is closeted can get them much more discretely later, or make a request with a librarian.
...despite the vows set for in the threatening email, the checked-out books have been returned.
Hopefully those returned books are being examined for vandalism before going back onto the shelves. Wouldn't be too big of a stretch to imagine that people petty enough to try and keep the books out of circulation might find other ways to be assholes.