The author of one of America’s most-banned books is calling on the Alabama Public Library Service to restore funding to the Fairhope Public Library and reject a proposed rule to deem positive portrayals of transgender stories as inappropriate for youth.
“The amendment proposed by the APLS board—to remove certain books from the young readers’ sections and block their purchase in the future—amounts to censorship,” said Patricia McCormick, author of the award-winning teen fiction “Sold.” “It represents coercion from on high—and it tells young people, especially those who already feel unwelcome and underrepresented, that their stories do not belong.”
“Sold” is among the books that has been challenged at the Fairhope Public Library for its description of the sexual abuse of a young teen sold into sexual slavery. The Fairhope Public Library board of trustees voted to keep “Sold” and some other challenged books in the teen section, triggering the APLS board to halt its funding.
APLS Board Chairman John Wahl, also the head of the Alabama Republican Party, has indicated he sees literary value in “Sold,” but has also said it may not be appropriate for younger readers. He emphasized that he had not come down on a decision on whether “Sold” in particular is in violation of the state’s code.
The book does cross the line of state code when coupled with a definition of “sexually explicit” provided by the APLS board in a memo earlier this year. That definition would bring any book that describes sexual intercourse or even nudity into the net of books that Alabama libraries are supposed to purge from youth sections to retain state funding.
“This approach is punitive and in direct opposition to the support of intellectual curiosity we associate with libraries,” McCormick said. “Fairhope’s library has had its funding withheld because ti declined to move young adult books, including my novel “Sold,” from the teen shelves. This is not protecting families; it is punishing communities that uphold intellectual freedom.
“I respectfully call on the board to restore Farihope’s funding and reject this amendment. Every child deserves a library where they can see themselves reflected, explore safely and feel they belong.”
McCormick will be visiting the Fairhope Public Library in person later this month for an author talk. The event will begin at 6 p.m. on Oct. 16.
Elizabeth Williams, leader of the Baldwin County chapter of Read Freely Alabama, thanked McCormick for speaking out in support of the library.
“This statement comes on the cusp of Banned Books Week, which also happens to be the last week that public comment can be delivered to APLS on their proposed amendment that would prohibit Alabama libraries from shelving or purchasing materials for people under 18 that “positively depict” trans people or anyone outside the traditional gender binary,” Williams said.
