Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) chairman John Wahl said the Fairhope Public Library has been the worst he's seen in the fight to remove inappropriate material in children and teen sections.
"Oh gosh, the Fairhope library has been the worst in the state, and it's a serious problem," Wahl told 1819 News.
The APLS board voted to pause the library's state funding on Thursday after sexually explicit material from the teen section was presented to the board.
Wahl said the Fairhope Public Library did change its policies after new APLS regulations were implemented, but he said the new policies were not followed.
"This has been an ongoing issue for the APLS board," Wahl told 1819 News. "We've received a lot of complaints from concerned parents about material in the Fairhope library."
Anne Johnson, the chairman of the Fairhope Public Library Board of Trustees, said in November that the board "loosened language" and took a "middle-of-the-road" approach with its new policy. However, Wahl noted there is no grey area in the APLS mandates.
"I've spoken about this, and it's important to remember that there are no loopholes in the state code," he said.
The new regulations aim to protect children from inappropriate material and hold libraries accountable. Wahl said that after two years of complaints led by Moms for Liberty Baldwin County and other groups, the Fairhope Public Library refused to remove books of concern.
"The Fairhope library received those complaints," he said. "They refused to give parents redress of grievances, saying the books had already been challenged and it would not rehear a challenge for five years, but that was after changed policies both at the state level and the county level."
"The Fairhope Library had multiple parents reach out to them," Wahl continued. "That separated the Fairhope Library from the rest of the state as a refusal to listen to local parents."
Wahl said he hopes the Fairhope Public Library will quickly comply with the APLS so state funding can resume. He also hopes libraries across the state will see this drastic measure as a warning.
"Our goal is very simple," he said. "We want children to be safe in children sections without any fear of them accidentally running across this material. This is not about censorship. This is not about banning books. We just want to put parents back in the driver's seat and let them decide what their children have access to when it comes to potentially inappropriate conduct."
Wahl says if library patrons are not heard by their local board, they are welcome to attend APLS meetings, which are held every two months. The next APLS meeting will be on May 15.
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