Read Freely Alabama and the EveryLibrary Institute presented a $42,230 check on Monday to the Friends of the Fairhope Public Library after the Alabama Public Library Service confirmed the library would lose at least half a year of state funding.
The money, raised over just one week in March, is intended to replace a full year’s worth of state aid payments as the library continues to be considered out of compliance by the state agency due to the location of certain books it deems “sexually explicit” in the teen section.
Challenged titles at the center of the Fairhope controversy include “Sold,” a National Book Award finalist about a girl who survives being trafficked, and “The Hate U Give,” a critically acclaimed Young Adult novel centering on police violence against black youth, as well as dozens of other books dealing with sex and gender. The titles challenged in Fairhope have been targeted nationwide as a part of a coordinated attack on libraries by groups such as Moms for Liberty.
Within hours of the APLS vote to suspend Fairhope’s funding in March, Read Freely Alabama launched an online fundraiser in partnership with the EveryLibrary Institute to replace the withheld state aid. Library supporters rallied behind Fairhope, and the campaign met its $40,000 goal in just five days. With the majority of donations coming from Fairhope and the surrounding areas—and 72 percent from within Alabama—Read Freely said the success of the fundraiser is a testament to Alabamians’ support for public libraries, library professionals, and the freedom to read.
“We are deeply grateful to everyone who gave to this campaign,” said Elizabeth Williams, Baldwin County chapter organizer for Read Freely Alabama. “Your generous contributions will offset the state funding that Fairhope is being unfairly denied and will ensure that our wonderful public library can continue to serve our entire community without undue interference from politicians and pressure groups.”
The money had been held in reserve while library officials sought to work with the APLS board under the expectation that state funding might be restored. Recent reporting by Ralph Chapoco at the Alabama Reflector, however, revealed that over $20,000 in funds for the library had been redistributed to other Baldwin County libraries.
APLS Chairman John Wahl, also head of the state’s Republican Party, said the library forfeited its opportunity at that state aid by failing to comply by June 30, and put the blame squarely on library leaders.
That prompted Read Freely and EveryLibrary to move forward with releasing the funds to the library as it continues to navigate the increasing restrictions imposed by APLS.
“We were thrilled to see how eager our members were to step in and help provide what the APLS would not. The state board was never meant to infringe on local decisions regarding book placement,” Read Freely Alabama leadership said in a statement. “This changed with the appointment of ALGOP Chairman John Wahl, who has led the effort to strip libraries of local autonomy and their critical funding. Mr. Wahl should end this unconstitutional and ideologically driven assault on Alabama libraries. Decisions about collections should remain with library professionals and local library boards, and parents should always retain the responsibility for monitoring what their children read.”
The EveryLibrary Institute, the national library nonprofit that hosts the FundLibraries.org crowdsourcing platform through which donations were collected, has supported the Fairhope campaign as part of its broader work to defend libraries against censorship efforts.
“Fairhope’s story is becoming all too familiar,” said John Chrastka, executive director of the EveryLibrary Institute. “When politicians and pressure groups misuse the machinery of government to punish libraries over lawful books, local residents and readers around the country are stepping up to make sure their libraries survive. Censorship is not a winning platform for any politician.”
