Alabama librarians be warned. You just might find Amish romance on your bookshelf.

In just over a month since the Alabama Public Library Service began submitting submissions to the library blacklist, 82 titles have been submitted and verified.

About one-third of these books are on the Clean Up Alabama website's list of “inappropriate” titles. Clean Up Alabama is an organization that targets LGBTQ books in libraries across the state, as well as some books with sexual or racial content.

This list is a direct response to complaints from Clean Up Alabama and fellow organizations, who have appeared multiple times before the APLS Board of Directors and local libraries to ensure that bookshelves contain gender ideology and sexual content. I have expressed my dissatisfaction with the book.

But alongside these books are 15 Amish romance novels by author Linda Byler, and a “Left Behind” speculative novel about life during the “Great Tribulation” prophesied by many evangelical churches. Five books were attempted.

Five children's books by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh (all in the Rush Revere series) were also challenged.

Including these books is an obvious response from the other side of the issue and could render the list meaningless as a tool for librarians to move or remove books.

Some LGBTQ+ books are listed as having the least sexual content. Examples include Red: A Crayon's Story, which tells the story of a blue crayon in red wrapping paper, and Bye Bye Binary. The story of a baby who defies gender norms, such as choosing between a pink or blue blanket.

Other books include “Door by Door: How Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender senator,” “Being You: First Conversations About Gender,” and “My “Rainbow” and “The Meaning of Pride.” All of these books were originally challenged by the Autauga Prattville Public Library Cleanup Her Alabama, and the library board decided to keep them all in place.

On the other side of the coin, there are Amish romances, Rush Limbaugh books, and children's spin-offs of the “Left Behind” series. Amish Romance contains sexy scenes, which may not be included in the minors section. Limbaugh and the “Left Behind” books are in the young adult section and appear to be challenged based on political or religious ideology.

Some of the books in question contain sexual content, such as:
“Bumped” and at least three books by author Sarah J. Maas. At the Prattville Library, her Mars books have already been moved to the “Emerging Adults” section, which is aimed at adults ages 18 to 25. “Bumped” tells a dystopian story that creates a situation where only girls under the age of 18 can have children, and young girls are paid to have children. This story has a message against this disturbing situation and is used to examine how girls and women are treated in society, especially when it comes to sex.

The APLS Board of Directors is scheduled to discuss this list at its next meeting on Tuesday at 10 a.m. in the APLS office.