Library controversy continues as local libraries adjust their policies to comply with new state regulations on sexually explicit children’s books

The Athens-Limestone Public Library Board of Directors recently joined with other local libraries to comply with the recent change in the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) administrative rules requiring libraries to continue receiving state funding.

The rule changes came after a years-long dispute over sexually explicit books.

The fight began in Prattville, spread to local libraries across the state, and eventually reached the APLS and Governor Kay Ivey.

Ivey became involved after Alabama residents began petitioning the APLS board to address the large number of sexually explicit or inappropriate books in the children’s sections of public libraries.

In September 2023 Ivey sent a letter to APLS Director Nancy Pack and demanded answers about the sexually explicit books and the APLS’s affiliation with the American Library Association (ALA).

Ivey later responded with a series of policy recommendationswhich were postponed during the public comment period of the deliberations on the rules.

After months of debate and public comment, the APLS Board approved the rule changes in May.

RELATED: “Today the people of Alabama won”: State Library Board approves rule changes for sexually explicit library books

The legal ramifications of changing state rules could ultimately be litigated in court, which is where the controversy in Prattville began. Left-wing activists sued the Autauga-Prattville Public Library (APPL) over its previous rule changes. Now that APPL has brought its rules into line with state rules, any further lawsuit could force the state to go to court.

SEE: Athens-Limestone County Library Board meeting descends into chaos over book policy

SEE ALSO: To resolve the issues facing the Athens-Limestone Library Board, the AG’s opinion must be sought

According to the Decatur dailyHowever, this change also led to protests from those who saw the restriction of reading material for children as similar to the book burning and censorship by the Nazis.

“Americans, and Alabamans in particular, have been toying with fascism for years,” said Athens-based Rev. Carey Cobb, pastor of Madison Christian Church. “It’s time to reject fascism in all its insidious forms. Say no to one of fascism’s most important tools: banning books.”

According to the Daily, Curtis Turner, a war veteran from Limestone County, began his three-minute commentary by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

“Nevertheless, there are people who do not know what ‘freedom and justice for all’ means,” he said. “The Nazis’ book burning on May 10, 1933, was directed against the works of authors who represented their un-German ideas. Book burnings, book bans and the deportation of books did not only occur in Nazi Germany and they did not end with the Third Reich.”

Representatives of the Alabama Library Association (ALLA), the state chapter of the American Library Association that is also suing the Prattville Library Board, also spoke at the meeting. Jessica Hayes, the ALLA’s advocacy coordinator, reportedly expressed concern that the Decatur Library would have to close for an extended period of time to move all of the books covered by the settlement.

Ultimately, despite the protests, the board approved the rule changes for the library.

The new APLS rules require libraries to:

• Establish policies that govern selection criteria for minors and how they will be protected from sexually explicit or other material deemed inappropriate for children or young people.

• Approve written policies to ensure that library areas designated for minors under 18 remain free of obscene, sexually explicit, or other material deemed inappropriate for children or young people. Age-appropriate material on history, religion, biology, or human anatomy should not be construed as a violation of this rule.

• Approve written eligibility criteria for minors that prevent the purchase or other acquisition of material advertised to consumers under 18 that contains obscene, sexually explicit, or other content deemed inappropriate for children or young people. Age-appropriate materials on history, religion, biology, or human anatomy should not be construed as a violation of this rule.

• Approve written policies for issuing library cards to minors under 18 years of age, requiring parental consent before a minor’s card may be used to borrow materials.

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