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‘Operation Caged Bird’ takes flight after Naval Academy removes hundreds of books from its library
By Kate Ryan | kryan@wtop.com, April 23, 2025, 4:33 AM
Old Fox Books in Annapolis, Maryland, isn’t just a business. Co-owner Jinny Amundson told WTOP it’s a part of the community, one she loves as much as she loves books
Amundson’s ties to the Naval Academy are deep as well. Her dad is not only a Naval Academy graduate, he retired from the academy in 1991.
FILE – An entrance to the U.S. Naval Academy campus in Annapolis, Md., is seen Jan. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)(AP/Patrick Semansky)
So when she heard that the Nimitz Library on campus was removing 381 titles in alignment with President Donald Trump’s administration’s goal of eliminating materials that seemingly include aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion, she knew she’d take some kind of action, though she wasn’t quite sure what form it would take.
While looking at the list on the weekend of the annual croquet match between the Naval Academy Midshipmen and the students of nearby St. John’s College, Amundson had already begun formulating a plan to stock up and highlight the books that had been removed at her shop.
She was contacted by retired Cmdr. William Marks, who’d graduated from the Naval Academy in 1996. Marks told WTOP the notion that the books would be taken off the shelves of the academy’s library didn’t make any sense to him.
“These are some of the smartest, most dedicated students in the whole world. Many of them, a month from now, will be commissioned officers leading our Navy and Marine Corps. While at the same breath, we’re telling them that they can’t read a book in the library,” Marks said.
When he reached out to Amundson, he told her about his plan. He was starting a GoFundMe page and he’d cover the cost of stocking the books at her shop so that Midshipmen could come in and get a selection of the titles — free of charge.
