ALGOP leadership seeks avenues to cut off state funding to public libraries

Oct. 11—Gov. Kay Ivey has proposed amendments to the Alabama Public Library Service Code which include making state level funding to local libraries contingent on the adoption of "sensible policies" which outline the location and relocation of of material deemed inappropriate for children.

Ivey's proposal follows APLS Director Dr. Nancy Pack's response to a letter sent by the governor on Sept. 1 to express her concerns over APLS policies and its involvement with the American Library Association. The letter pointed to three public libraries in Foley, Ozark and Prattville, Ala., all of which have recently received book challenges calling for the removal or relocation of books featuring LGBTQ content.

One of Ivey's main grievances was the APLS's adoption of the ALA Library Bill of Rights, which Ivey said contradicted Alabama law by not granting parental access to children's library records, as well as local library affiliations with the ALA. Pack replied to the letter on Sept. 12 and provided answers to each of Ivey's questions.

She explained, while the APLS has adopted a version of the 1996 version of the Library Bill of Rights, the article in question was not added until 2019 and is not included in the current APLS policy.

"The Alabama Public Library Service is aware of the Alabama Code that relates to parental access to their children's library records. As such, the Executive Board of Trustees of the Library Service has not adopted or ratified the newer version in order to align with the legal framework and regulations in place within the state. As one of the roles the APLS we have made it known to libraries that if they choose to the ALA's Bill of Rights, they should modify it to reflect current Alabama Laws," Pack said.

She added how she is unaware of any direct role the ALA plays in the day-to-day operations of local libraries except to point out how all state library job positions listed on the Alabama State Personnel require a degree from an ALA-accredited library school.

Unsatisfied with Pack's response, Ivey responded with a list of proposed amendments to APLS policies which local libraries would be required to follow in order to continue receiving state funding.

"In my previous letter to you [Pack], I described to core problem as the exposure of children and youth to inappropriate materials without adequate means of parental supervision. Unfortunately, your response does not persuade me that Alabama libraries have policies in place to strike the right balance in responding to these materials. In my view, the common-sense approach would be to require local libraries to adopt their own policies governing the location and promotion of content that they deem inappropriate for children," Ivey said.

Ivey included the following "minimum" actions to be taken by the APLS:

—Make state aid for local libraries contingent on the adoption of sensible policies to facilitate greater parental supervision of their children.

—Require all expenditures of public funds to the ALA be approved by the relevant governing authority in an open, public meeting.

—Reaffirm local libraries' ability to respond to parental concerns about sexually explicit or other inappropriate materials.

While Ivey's original letter was praised by the conservative "parental rights" group Clean Up Alabama — who have spearheaded the effort to remove LGBTQ books from Alabama libraries and called for the disaffiliation with the ALA — the most recent proposal has fallen short of satisfying groups on either side of the debate.

"The letter made some really good points, but the proposed policy changes do not go far enough to ensure safe libraries for all children," CUA Director Hannah Rees said in a statement published on the group's social media. "APLS must require policies that do not allow minors access to any sexual content without parental consent. This is both sexually explicit content and content regarding sex, sexuality and gender but isn't necessarily explicit."

The community group Read Freely Alabama, which was formed in response to the recent book challenges, has quickly gained traction across the state. Current membership displayed on the two groups social media pages shows RFA now outranks CUA 14:1. RFA has issued its own statement to Ivey and has invited her to meet with several of the group's leaders to discuss and analyze the content of the books in question.

Krysti Shallenberger, who helps lead the Cullman County RFA chapter, praised the governor and the letter for deferring decisions to local library boards. "I think that shows Gov. Ivey's strengths. She's always been very conscious of who in Alabama is representing the voices and trying to allow the community to be represented," she said. However, she said overall she felt as though the letter lacked clarity as to what would be considered "inappropriate" and who would be assigned to making such determinations.

"I would like more clarity on what she sees as ideal policies. There's a lot of room for interpretation and that can lead to unintended consequences such as censorship or restricting books because of a certain type of family that a group with a certain religious and political view might not think of as legitimate," Shallenberger said.

As an example, Shallenberger said she grew up in a conservative household where she wasn't allowed to read the Harry Potter series, but remembered reading "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton, which she said contained what could be considered more explicit content.

"The point I'm making, is those definitions are very subjective and again, they open the way for one particular religious and political group to impose their viewpoint and violate the constitutional rights of parents to choose what's appropriate for their kids. That's concerning," she said.

Shallenberger said she was also left "uneasy" over the allusions Ivey made to withholding state funding to libraries.

Ivey is joined in this stance by other ALGOP leaders who have aligned themselves with CUA's goals. CUA has suggested to revive HB401 which would add drag shows to be covered under state obscenity laws and to remove public libraries' existing exemptions from those laws in an effort to create a legal foothold for removing books. During a recent appearance on The Jeff Poor radio show, ALGOP Chair John Wahl — who also occupies the District 5 seat on the APLS Board of Trustees — said he "could definitely see the legislature consider a bill that would take those exemptions away."

Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) — who received the Alabama Library Association's Public Servant award in 2020 — has also alluded to withholding funding for libraries which refused to disaffiliate from the ALA and remove what he described as "porn" during a discussion on the WVNN Dale Jackson Show.

"I think they're going to realize that the light bills and the books and the salaries don't get paid without the funding," Orr said. "They are about to get so far our on the limb, that the limb is going to be sawed off, and it'll be 'well good luck if you want to double down in trying to cram this porn down kids' minds and what not and won't listen to parents and people in the community.'"

According to the 2024 budget, recently approved by the Cullman County Library Board, the Cullman County Public Library has allotted for $104,410 in state funding, which is more than one-third of its overall $290,256 budget.

Despite Ivey requesting the APLS to issue a memo stating "that limiting children's access to inappropriate content is not impermissible 'censorship,'" Shallenberger said that is exactly what these efforts describe. She said in her experience these efforts were rarely effective at shielding children from content their parents might find to be inappropriate and said a better solution would be to expand the children's sections in Alabama libraries.

She said she has now become a fan of the Harry Potter books despite her childhood restrictions and finds a fitting example in the series' fifth novel, "Order of the Phoenix," when the book's protagonist attempts to ban a particular magazine article she disagreed with.

"Just look at Harry Potter, I'm actually a huge fan now. There's a scene in one of the books where Dolores Umbridge — an agent of the corrupt government — comes in and bans all copies of Harry Potter's interview and the first thing every single person does is find that interview and reads it. She couldn't have ensured a more widely read interview. It doesn't do anyone any good to restrict ideas or the ability of people to make choices for their own family," Shallenberger said.

CUA is scheduled to hold a "round table" event on Thursday, Nov. 2, at 6 p.m. in Prattville, which will feature Wahl as one of its speakers.

Patrick Camp can be reached at 256-734-2131 ext. 238