John Wahl, the chairman of the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) Board and the Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP), sent a formal letter on Wednesday to public library directors across the state, informing them that the APLS Board will stand behind President Donald Trump’s executive order banning the use of federal funds to promote gender ideology.
The APLS board has been thrust into the limelight for over two years after statewide controversy arose surrounding sexually explicit books in Alabama's public libraries.
At the behest of lawmakers and Gov. Kay Ivey, the APLS passed a series of administrative rule changes, making state funding dependent on compliance with the procurement and placement of certain books, as well as rules for challenging and removing books deemed to be obscene or sexually explicit.
Several board members have either been fired or resigned. Likewise, the board voted to remove the then-APLS director Nancy Pack.
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Wahl, who has been against the sexually explicit books targeted towards children, took over as board chairman last year. Since then, Wahl and the other board members have gotten aggressive in their efforts to remove or relocate any objectionable material. The board passed and implemented changes to the administrative code and even withheld funding from the Fairhope Library when it failed to follow the new rules, according to the majority of board members.
Wahl’s Wednesday letter notified local libraries that they must bring their operations into full compliance with the executive order. The letter also directed libraries to review their collections, programming, and policies to ensure that no federal dollars are being used to advance “gender ideology” in any form.
“As Chairman of the Alabama Public Library Service, I stand firmly behind President Trump’s executive order protecting children from radical gender ideology and restoring biological truth,” Wahl said. “The APLS Board will make sure that these new grant requirements are being followed here in Alabama. This letter makes it clear that federal taxpayer dollars cannot be used to push gender ideology on our children. Libraries should be places of learning, not platforms for social agendas.”
Trump’s executive order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” mandates that no federal funds be used to promote gender ideology. According to Wahl, APLS, as the distributing agency for library-related federal grants in Alabama, is charged with upholding this responsibility. Wahl’s letter encourages immediate action to stay in compliance for the upcoming fiscal year.
“Sexuality and gender identity are deeply personal and complex topics and should be approached with care, respect, and parental involvement,” Wahl explained. “Taxpayer dollars should never be used to push controversial social ideologies on our youth—especially without parental consent. Alabama libraries should be places where families feel safe, respected, and welcome. That starts with keeping divisive political agendas out of collections dedicated to children.” ‘
He continued, “The Alabama Public Library Service has taken a strong stand in defense of parental rights, biological truth, and the innocence of childhood. We are proud to stand with the families of Alabama as we work to protect the next generation from sexually explicit and inappropriate content.”
A full copy of the letter can be found below, where Wahl stated that libraries that continue to promote gender ideology would lose grant eligibility.
Wahl Letter. by Craig Monger on Scribd
"Failure to comply with these new federal guidelines will result in the loss of grant eligibility, which could significantly impact library funding and operations,” Wahl’s letter reads. “To avoid any disruption of grants, I strongly urge all library directors to conduct a thorough review of their library’s policies, collections, and programming to ensure full compliance with this executive order.”
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