A public comment period on potential changes to the Alabama Library Code begins Wednesday, but public librarians through the Alabama Library Association (ALLA) have announced their own counterproposal to the changes.
Gov. Kay Ivey proposed the changes after a series of complaints that public libraries were being unduly influenced by the American Library Association to provide inappropriate materials to children.
ALLA announced the counterproposal on Tuesday and will host a series of town halls to encourage members, librarians, library staff, library boards, and library supporters to incorporate these amendments into public comments to the APLS Board of Directors. Then he announced.
The main difference between Ivey's proposed changes and ALLA's changes is the section where librarians declared that libraries cannot stand in for parents when deciding what content is appropriate for minors.
“According to Section 11-90-3 of the Alabama Statutes of 1975, public libraries must be readily available to all residents of the county or municipality, and must be accessible to all residents of the county or municipality, regardless of age, race, sex, “You may not deny service to anyone based on their beliefs,” the new code section states. “For minors in public libraries, parents/guardians retain the ultimate authority to determine what materials their children can and cannot access. Libraries cannot act.This is Loco Parentis. ”
This section is a complete rewrite of the new section proposed by Ivey and emphasizes that relocating materials from the library's children's and young adult sections does not violate the library's credo of not discriminating on the basis of age. I'm trying to.
Consistent with ALLA's emphasis on parental guidance, the association also added language stating that libraries must adopt policies for unsupervised minors in order to receive state aid; was not included in Mr. Ivey's version.
ALLA also rewrote two other policy categories on which Ivey relied on state aid.
In Ivey's view, to receive state aid, libraries must have policies that cover “the physical location (and relocation) of sexually explicit materials and other materials.” become.
“Considered to be inappropriate for children or adolescents” and “prior approval of content recommended, displayed, or otherwise actively promoted to children or adolescents.”
The ALLA version modifies these mandatory policies to cover “Review of Material Location or Material Policies” and “Display Policy.”
The third pillar of Ivey's revised proposal would require libraries to obtain prior approval from the Library Board at a public meeting before disbursing taxpayer funds to the American Library Association. I didn't.
If the proposed changes change from Ivey's words, the process will have to start again and a new 90-day public comment period will begin after the amendments are made. Looking at the timeline, it is already unlikely that the changes will take effect before the end of the next Congress.
Some Republicans have proposed using the power of the purse to appease libraries and bend them to the will of book challengers, and Ivey said APLS board member Virginia Doyle has been pushing back against the agency's funding. fired her after criticizing the threat.
APLS will consider a resolution on Tuesday to honor Doyle's long service as a board member.
