Tensions were high before the meeting even began.
A crowded room in Montgomery was the spot for contention as dozens of people spoke for or against the Fairhope Public Library, whose decision to …
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Tensions were high before the meeting even began.
A crowded room in Montgomery was the spot for contention as dozens of people spoke for or against the Fairhope Public Library, whose decision to keep challenged books in its teen section despite losing state funding has garnered a spotlight.
The executive board meeting for the Alabama Public Library Services (APLS), which was originally scheduled for May 15, was moved up to May 8. Because of the change, APLS board member Ron Snider, a vocal supporter of the Fairhope Public Library and critic of his fellow board members’ policies, was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict. Snider and board member Angelina Stokes said they were not asked ahead of time about the change, and local anticensorship group Read Freely Alabama condemned it.
APLS chairman John Wahl said he sent email notices to the other APLS board members, noting that meeting date changes are not uncommon for the board and saying it was changed to coincide with the final day of the state’s 2025 legislative session.
Thursday’s meeting originally capped the speaker list to 23 but removed the limit on Wednesday, the day before the meeting, with 37 individuals registering to speak before the board. The discussion was part of the ongoing culture war surrounding APLS’s decision to pause state funding to the Fairhope Public Library.
Opponents of the library's decision to keep certain challenged books in the teen and children's section that APLS deemed “inappropriate” and “sexually explicit" have accused the library of ignoring the complaints of concerned parents. Conversely, supporters accused APLS and opponents of being politically motivated and trying to censor and remove material and information they argue is important for minors to read and learn.
At the meeting, there was no sign that the paused state funding, worth around $20,000 for the remainder of the fiscal year, will be restored.
The Fairhope Public Library is the first library in Alabama to lose state funding due to alleged violations of APLS code. On April 21, the Fairhope Public Library board voted to retain two challenged books in their teen section, “Grown” by Tiffany Jackson and “Sold” by Patricia McCormick. Both center on young girls facing sexual abuse and exploitation.
Randall Wright, chair of the Fairhope Public Library Board of Trustees, said they are not trying to defy APLS and their code, urging the state board to adopt a system that notifies libraries of potential violations while giving them an opportunity to comply. She invited the board to visit the library.
“I have witnessed the standards of the majority of the citizens of Fairhope who have spoken out in supporting the library, and I believe that we are adhering to the APLS guidelines while also listening to the community standards of Fairhope,” Wright said.
Library Director Rob Gourlay told the board that since January, six books have been moved from the juvenile to the adult section and that they are currently reviewing 14 books on which decisions were made prior to the adoption of the new state code. Of the over 20,000 library card holders, six to seven individuals are responsible for all of the requests for reconsideration.
Gourlay said they are not minimizing their concerns and are taking their requests seriously no matter how small or large of a group they are.
“We do take each request seriously and work hard to treat with respect and act properly,” Gourlay said. “I also would ask if this board does identify a book or multiple books that you feel are inappropriate, I just would ask for some kind of consistency that I saw many of the controversial titles that we have in the teen section, and they’re throughout the state in other teen sections, questioning why our funding has paused before any kind of judgment on the title was made across the state.”
Under current policy, the Fairhope Public Library requires children under the age of 13 to be accompanied by an adult. They have a library card system based on age, with both an all-access card and a card with restricted access for teens (ages 13-17) and juveniles (ages 3-12). Library staff said these policies all were approved by APLS prior to the funding freeze. Gourlay previously said that 51% of parents have approved to give their children full access to the youth and adult sections with no restrictions.
In a three-hour meeting, at the APLS office, speakers ranged from librarians and readers to activists.
Rebecca Watson, founder of the Baldwin County chapter of the conservative group Moms for Liberty, has been a vocal critic of the Fairhope Public Library, saying several challenged books still in the teen section of the library, such as “Sold,” have sexually explicit content, arguing the library shouldn’t rely on patrons to weed their collection for them.
Sarah Sanchez, a member of a similar conservative group, Clean Up Alabama, said “Boy Toy,” a book about a 12-year-old boy who enters a sexually abusive relationship with his teacher, is in the kid’s catalogue.
According to the catalog database from the Baldwin County Public Library System, “Boy Toy” is currently listed in the teen section.
“Our funds from taxpayers should not be purchasing these books, and that’s the problem,” Sanchez said. “Before these codes, we came to our local libraries, and they said no. The ALA [American Library Association] advises us everybody has the right to access whatever they want at any age, and you just need to trust your librarians. […] I do trust my librarians by the way, but the problem is we all have different values.”
Sanchez lives in Prattville. The Autauga-Prattville Public Library is currently at the center of a federal lawsuit accusing the library’s new policies of violating adult and children’s First Amendment rights by stopping them from accessing certain books.
Members of Read Freely Alabama, who have been vocal in their support for the Fairhope Public Library, denounced APLS leadership and accused them of bending legal codes regarding obscene material and being hostile toward Alabama libraries.
“The notion that this is all to protect children from obscene content is a farce,” said Angie Hayden, co-founder of Read Freely Alabama, also from Prattville. “Minors will be the ones to suffer for it as these are the types of materials that actually make them safer from predators and grooming, so please stop pretending that this board is, under its current leadership, not hostile to Alabama’s libraries, the constitution and individual rights for everyone, not just a few."
“If we moved every book that made one parent uncomfortable, the adult section would be full of ‘Captain Underpants,’" said Elizabeth Williams, chapter organizer for the Baldwin County chapter of Read Freely Alabama. "That’s not how libraries work. That’s not how America works.”
Another common topic brought up was how new policies may impact LGBTQ+ material, as many of the challenged books contain LGBTQ+ elements and themes.
APLS board member Amy Minton introduced a new policy that is under consideration that would deem books and material that “encourages, promotes or contains positive portrayals of transgender procedures, gender ideology or the concept of more than two genders” as “inappropriate” and restrict access to them. The policy is in accordance with legislation such as the What is a Woman Act, signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey in February, and President Donald Trump’s executive orders concerning transgender youth and the teaching of gender ideology in the United States.
“I never saw the Hamburglar dressed in a pride flag tip toeing around libraries whispering to children’s ears and distributing gay porn,” said Aaron de Jager, who identified themselves as transgender. “Nothing about library books makes you gay or trans. I won’t stand up here and sing ‘Born This Way’ to you, but it’s not education that makes people queer.”
“I see trans people being demonized, and I am afraid for myself and my community,” another transgender speaker, Dr. Paige Tallulah Gant, said, comparing recent policies to the book-banning practices of Nazi Germany. The two speakers went back to back. “I urge the library board to heed the lessons of history and resist any calls to remove LGBTQ books from libraries.”
Matthew Layne, former president of the Alabama Library Association, expressed disappointment with the state board.
“Stop playing politics,” Layne said. “Do the task you were appointed to do and serve all the citizens of Alabama.”
Despite calls of supporters for the library, the APLS board stood their ground on their state guidelines, adopting definitions for what is considered “sexually explicit” under state code, which are available to read on the APLS website. Under these definitions, “sexually explicit” content is defined as “actual or simulated sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex; sexual excitement; nudity; bestiality; masturbation; sadistic or masochistic abuse; or lascivious exhibition of the anus, genital or pubic area of any person.”
Minton, who proposed the new LGBTQ+ policy, cited a book called “Gender Queer,” a copy of which she had at hand, as material she said she thinks is “inappropriate." She described a scene involving masturbation, claiming the library she checked the book out from — she did not specify which library — gave the book an age recommendation of 13 and up.
“According to these definitions, they don’t have to read the whole book,” Minton said. “If they see it talks about masturbation, it is on this list as sexually explicit, so based on these definitions, [the book] would need to be moved to the adult section.”
The book is a graphic novel by cartoonist Maia Kobabe, based on their personal experiences dealing with gender identity and sexuality growing up, identifying as nonbinary. The book has often been a target for removal, with the American Library Association ranking it as the most challenged book in the country from 2021 to 2023. Age recommendations for “Gender Queer” across libraries vary, but Kobabe themselves clarified in interviews they do not think the book is appropriate for children but is appropriate for teenage audiences, saying not every book in every library is for every reader but that those books should still be available.
Wahl, APLS chairman, who is also the chairman for the Alabama Republican Party, said he is “100% committed” to local libraries, a strong supporter of the First Amendment and that he does believe some material holds educational and literary purpose, but he reiterated that parents and taxpayers should be “in the driver’s seat.”
“If libraries are worried about defunding, it is a very simple solution; it is in your hands,” Wahl said. “It is not us who are defunding you. It is your choice to intentionally disobey [the APLS code] is the only thing that would cause defunding, and I encourage you strongly, any library directors out there, look at the state code, comply with it, and there is nothing to worry about, and if you are genuinely seeking to get to that point, you have nothing to worry about from this body. We genuinely want to work with every single library in the state of Alabama — that is our commitment — but at the same time, we cannot ignore the voices of the people of Alabama.”
Wahl defended the state library board's actions, saying he secured guaranteed funding for local libraries in the event they lose federal grants amid the Trump administration’s funding cuts. He referenced an additional $3 million he requested from the legislature to include in the state's 2026 Education Trust Fund budget.
“There was not a single thank you there, and to say that this board does not stand up for local libraries and does not fight for them is offensive,” Wahl said.
Wahl said he wants to “continue the open dialogue” between APLS and the Fairhope Public Library and that he is “graciously waiting” for the library to finish its review process over the challenged books.
The board will meet again on July 17.
All books mentioned, according to the Baldwin County Public Library System catalog, are currently either checked out or overdue.
Editor's Note: The article reflects a change to say that six books have been moved from the juvenile to the adult section since January, rather than the teen section.
