MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Public Library Service Board’s latest meeting turned into a battleground Thursday as librarians, parents, and activists clashed over the state’s escalating crackdown on library materials, with critics accusing Republican leaders of abandoning their long-touted commitment to parental rights and individual liberty in favor of heavy-handed government control.
Dozens packed the boardroom, many blasting the board’s decision to withhold state funding from the Fairhope Public Library after it refused to remove two award-winning novels about sexual abuse from its teen section. The books, Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson and Sold by Patricia McCormick, were targeted by conservative groups who claim they are “sexually explicit.” Supporters of the library countered that these works are not pornography, but important literature that addresses real-life trauma and helps teens navigate difficult issues.
Tensions flared as Gadsden Public Library Director Craig Scott accused the board—now chaired by Alabama Republican Party leader John Wahl—of seeking controversy and using libraries as “political playgrounds” instead of supporting their mission to educate and serve communities. Wahl bristled at the criticism, defending the board’s actions as necessary to “protect kids,” but opponents argued that parents already have the tools to guide their children’s reading and that the real issue is politicians using the machinery of the state to impose their own moral code.
The Fairhope dispute is just the latest flashpoint in a broader campaign by Republican officials and allied activist groups to purge Alabama libraries of books dealing with sexuality, gender identity, and LGBTQ+ themes. The new state policy threatens to strip funding from any library that fails to remove “inappropriate” material from youth sections-a move critics say amounts to censorship and an attack on the First Amendment.
While conservative speakers insisted they were standing up for families, most public commenters accused the board of hypocrisy, noting that the same politicians who rail against “nanny state” government are now dictating what other people’s children can read.
No resolution was reached at Thursday’s meeting, and the board will revisit the issue in July. For now, Alabama’s library debate continues to expose deep rifts-not just over what’s on the shelves, but over who gets to decide, and what “freedom” really means in the state’s public institutions.