On Thursday, the Autauga-Prattville Library Board banned any books with sexual or LGBTQ content for children 17 and younger, prompting one board member to resign.
Prattville has been at the heart of book challenges in Alabama. Last year, patrons challenged 47 books, mainly with LGBTQ characters or themes. The library’s new obscene content policy attempts to stop children from accessing any books or materials that deal with sex or LGBTQ issues.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the library shall not purchase or otherwise acquire any material advertised for consumers ages 17 and under which contain content including, but not limited to, obscenity, sexual conduct, sexual intercourse, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender discordance,” the updated 53-page policy states. “Age-appropriate materials concerning biology, human anatomy, or religion are exempt from this rule.”
Library director Andrew Foster said he was unaware of the changes until they were announced in yesterday’s meeting, even though the policies state they were “prepared by the library director and board of trustees.” He’s still reviewing the policy and will determine the next steps with his staff. The library’s three branches have about 80,000 materials, Foster said.
The board is “essentially asking for a potential overhaul of the entire collection,” Foster said. He said this will require significant time and money to enact these changes and is concerned about legal challenges the library may face.
Once board member Christie Sellers heard the changes were made in non-public meetings, she resigned Thursday. Four other board members resigned last year after the Autauga County Commission approved several library board appointments without consulting the current board.
Sellers told The Prattville Post the new content policies were created in “secret meetings” and “evoke blatant censorship of certain books within our current library collection.”
“Equally disheartening is the evident discrimination against a minority people group,” Sellers said. “As a board member, it is disconcerting to witness actions that contribute to the marginalization of any community within our constituency. We must serve the entire community without bias, and I find it unconscionable to be associated with a board that engages in such discriminatory practices. I cannot align myself, even with a dissenting vote, with the pervasive ideologies that are evidenced by the subcommittee’s recommendations.”
Board president Ray Boles provided AL.com with the updated policy but declined to comment further. The exact language about obscene content is used in the programming section of the policy. The policy can be found below the story.
Librarians must also put a red “warning label” on any adult book with sexual or gender identity content. The policy isn’t clear if librarians must remove or move any books for children and young adults. However, the policy also states, the board “reserves the right to exercise discretion over weeding of materials.”
Another form change includes the patrons’ reconsideration form used to challenge material. In a previous version of the form, the patron must check yes or no if the material has been reviewed “in its entirety.” The form now asks if the patron reviewed the material “thoroughly.”
Two opposing groups have sprung up in Prattville because of the controversy and have expanded their messages statewide: Clean Up Alabama, which is behind many of the book challenges in the state, and Read Freely Alabama, a group opposed to such challenges. Clean Up Alabama didn’t respond to AL.com’s request for comment.
Prattville resident Angie Hayden, co-founder of Read Freely Alabama, became emotional when talking about the controversy and how it has affected her 25-year-old LGBTQ daughter.
“I can’t even tell you the amount of emotional trauma this has been for someone who has grown up in Prattville, been an avid reader, an avid user of the Prattville Library, to have a board say to her that books about people like her are dangerous and inappropriate and must be segregated away for the safety of the community,” Hayden said. “I find that an insult to not just LGBTQ people, but all people.”
