Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) chairman John Wahl weighed in on the library controversy unfolding in Fairhope on FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show” Tuesday.
Wahl said the APLS has been clear in its guidance to the Fairhope Public Library and city leaders. He said he has done his research, going as far as contacting the author of one of the books that was challenged.
“I think it is very, very disingenuous for anyone, either with the Fairhope Library or the city to say that the APLS has not given very clear guidance, both in regards to Fairhope specifically, but also in regards to this argument that somehow sexually explicit is not a defined term – that there's ambiguity there, that people may have different definitions,” said Wahl. “We all know fairly closely what sexually explicit is and I'll tell you, we know when we see it; we know when we read it.”
Wahl emphasized that he has made himself available to Mayor Sherry Sullivan and library leaders.
The APLS determines what is appropriate by determining three factors: obscenity, sexual explicitness, and inappropriateness for children.
Wahl compared the process to a movie rating process. That’s why he said the Miller Test, which rates a book as a whole, is not always the best course to take for books for minors.
Still, Wahl said parents should have the final say.
“If there are parents out there who think their children should read this type of information, that is their decision,” he said. “And I think that's what the vast majority of people are missing completely.”
“Those books can still be checked out,” he continued. “Children can still read them if their parents want them to. All the APLS board is saying is don't put it in the children section where innocent children that their parents don’t want these things in their head, don’t put it in the children’s section where they can accidentally stumble upon it.”
While the APLS has not ruled on any specific book, Wahl said he has spoken to the author of "Sold," Patricia McCormick. While he said the book has literary value, he believes parents should decide when their children are exposed to some of the graphic and horrifying content.
Wahl, who also serves as the Alabama Republican Party Chairman, said elected leaders who do not act to protect children are alienating their constituency.
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