MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama Public Library Service board member has circulated a list of more than 8,800 public-library catalog listings involving transgender and gender-identity terms, escalating pressure on local libraries as they face a fall deadline to comply with a state rule that restricts access to such materials for minors.
The list, assembled by APLS board member Amy Minton, identifies at least 8,842 catalog results from libraries across Alabama. Minton has said the materials should be reviewed and, if necessary, moved to adult sections or removed from collections before libraries receive state and federal funding.
But the catalog results are not the same as findings that particular books violate state rules. The list does not establish whether a title is shelved in a children’s, teen or adult collection; whether it is a physical or digital item; whether it is a duplicate listing; or whether it falls within exceptions in the state code.
The APLS board is scheduled to meet Thursday, Sept. 17, in Montgomery to consider a process for evaluating the titles identified in Minton’s list.
The conflict comes as libraries prepare for an Oct. 1 deadline to submit state-aid paperwork and demonstrate compliance with APLS requirements. Libraries that fail to meet state-aid standards can lose remaining quarterly state-aid payments under the administrative code.
Under a code amendment that took effect Feb. 14, public libraries seeking state aid must treat materials concerning “transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders” as inappropriate for children and youth. The rule requires libraries to weed the materials from their collections or relocate them to adult sections.
The rule applies even when a book does not contain sexually explicit material. It places books involving transgender people and identities in the same state-aid framework that governs material labeled obscene, sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate for minors.
The revised code also requires standard library cards for minors to limit access to adult collections unless a parent or guardian submits written approval for unrestricted access.
Minton has said her list is intended to identify materials that require review. In comments reported by ALPolitics, she urged parents who locate a title in a youth collection to raise the issue first with local library staff and then use the library’s formal challenge process.
The list has prompted criticism from advocates who say it risks treating the mere presence of transgender people, identities or experiences in books as a compliance violation.
Read Freely Alabama has called for Minton and APLS Chairman John Wahl to resign, saying the list was distributed without first determining whether the titles were actually placed in youth collections. The organization pointed to the Cullman County Public Library System, where it said catalog results included adult-shelved items and where the library had already eliminated its young-adult section to comply with state requirements.
That distinction is central to the dispute. A searchable library catalog can return materials held in adult, youth, digital, reference and other collections. It can also include multiple formats or editions of the same work. Without an item-by-item review, a catalog search alone cannot show that a particular book is available to minors or violates the APLS rule.
The controversy is part of a broader campaign to limit access to LGBTQ+-related library materials in Alabama. In November 2025, the APLS board approved a rule directing public libraries to remove or relocate materials addressing transgender procedures, gender ideology or more than two biological genders from children’s and teen sections. The action affects more than 200 local libraries served by the state agency.
Minton had earlier proposed language that would have targeted materials that “promote, encourage, or positively depict” transgender procedures, gender ideology or the concept of more than two biological genders. The board ultimately adopted broader language that does not require a positive portrayal before a work can be treated as inappropriate for youth sections.
The state code includes exceptions for age-appropriate materials about religion, history, biology and human anatomy. But it does not define “gender ideology,” leaving local libraries to interpret a term that can encompass a wide range of books, including memoirs, fiction, health information and materials intended to help young people understand transgender family members, friends or themselves.
APLS staff have said the agency cannot inspect every youth collection statewide. At an August meeting, staff advised board members against creating a new compliance position, while Minton and Wahl said additional assistance was needed to guide local libraries through the requirements.
For public libraries, the fight raises questions that extend beyond any single title: whether parents and local library boards will retain meaningful control over collections, whether young transgender Alabamians will be able to find age-appropriate information in their communities, and whether state funding will be used to enforce a policy that equates transgender identity with material unsuitable for minors.
The Sept. 17 APLS meeting could offer the first indication of whether the board intends to conduct individual reviews, rely on local challenge processes or use Minton’s catalog list as the basis for broader compliance action.