The Alabama Public Library Service’s Executive Board meeting has been delayed due to this week’s winter weather, staving off the potential for more drama as libraries remain controversial in the state.
ALGOP Chairman John Wahl took over as chair of the board last year and immediately scored some points with library directors as he led the board to reverse a decision not to hand out competitive grants.
Wahl has also recently indicated his willingness to cut state funding to libraries that he feels aren’t in alignment with the new state administrative code that requires libraries to have certain policies in place to receive state aid.
“It may take one or two (libraries) losing (funding) for the rest to shape up,” Wahl reportedly told the Geneva County Republican Women in December. “It looks like Fairhope may be that example because they are out of control. They’re disrespectful to parents, and the content in that library is shocking.”
The policies at the Fairhope Public Library have already been approved by APLS as acceptable to receive state aid, but book challengers there have criticized the library and board for allowing two books they find inappropriate to remain shelved in youth sections.
The APLS requested the opinion of the attorney general last year on what authority it has to set library policies across the state, and the AG opinion is that the APLS can require certain policies be in place to receive state funding. That opinion did not go into whether the agency has the authority to pull state funding based on their perceived implementation of those policies.
Since the agenda had not been published for the meeting, it is impossible to speculate what may have come up—but board member Amy Minton shared a story Tuesday from a far-right outlet that claimed rumors that the board is prepared to fire director Nancy Pack. The story did not provide a source of these rumors.
The board meeting has not yet been rescheduled.
