The swarms of advocates who have spent nearly two years pushing to keep sexually explicit books in Alabama libraries have been uncharacteristically silent after the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) Board voted to terminate Dr. Nancy Pack last week.
Thursday's APLS Board decision came after those opposing sexually explicit books in libraries targeted at children called for her resignation for more than a year.
At multiple APLS board meetings, attendees opposed to the books accused Pack of attempting to subvert the board and working against efforts to remove offending content from children's sections. However, those in favor of keeping the books have often spoken highly of Pack.
RELATED: State library director appears to have played role in Madison, Millbrook library events
Audio obtained by 1819 News showed Pack with Matthew Layne of the Alabama Library Association (ALLA), the state chapter of the American Library Association. Both have repeatedly spoken out against those opposed to the concerning books.
In the audio, Pack can be heard making disparaging remarks about lawmakers and seemingly encouraging public library directors to file an ethics complaint against now-APLS board chairman John Wahl.
The APLS board voted 5-1 to terminate Pack, with Wahl stating board members had found her disrespectful and hard to work with.
After the firing, some of the state's most prominent defenders of keeping books in libraries have remained silent. Organizations like ALLA and Read Freely Alabama were content to bemoan the board's Thursday move to withhold funding from a non-compliant library. However, all were mum on Pack's firing.
Read Freely Alabama is an advocacy group that advocates keeping objectionable books in the library. In October 2023, it sent a letter to APLS calling for an investigation into Wahl for an alleged conflict of interest.
Read Freely and ALLA have often aligned to oppose what they consider censorship in the state's libraries.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected].
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
