Alabama authorities remove funding from local library for insufficient protection against age-inappropriate literature.
The Fairhope Public Library in Fairhope, Alabama, nestled on the picturesque shores of Mobile Bay, is embroiled in a heated debate about the content of its books following a decision by the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) to withhold state funding.
Triggered by complaints from conservative parents concerning books in the teen section, the APLS board voted to take away funding and dismiss the executive director of the state library agency. Board Chairman John Wahl, a prominent figure in the Alabama Republican Party, asserted that the library had breached state policies designed to shield children from incendiary materials. Books such as the acclaimed and National Book Award-nominated "Sold," which depicts a girl sold into sexual slavery in India, were at the heart of the controversy.
This turn of events unfolds amid a broader national war over library content and programs, prompting numerous challenges to books found on library shelves. The American Library Association's list of the most-challenged books of 2025 included many works dealing with LGBTQIA+ or sexual themes. Opponents of the restrictions, like Amber Frey of Read Freely Alabama, argue that the chairman of the State Library Board is succumbing to anti-library extremists, disregarding the voices of Fairhope taxpayers and library users.
The first instance of this kind under a new Alabama law and 2025 administrative code changes, the sanctions state that local libraries must have policies safeguarding youth from "sexually explicit or other material deemed inappropriate for children or youth" to be eligible for state funding. Wahl insists they are not out to ban the books, but maintains that they must be relocated out of youth sections in accordance with the state code.
Parents objecting to the books presented excerpts during the meeting to demonstrate their rationale for the books' removal. Clean Up Alabama, an organization that partnered with Moms for Liberty, praised the decision, claiming they witnessed the board standing up for children.
The secretary of the Fairhope Public Library, Randal Wright, expressed shock and deep disappointment over the action, stating, "Never in our wildest nightmares did we think this could happen." Wright explained that the library had previously undergone a review process for 35 books, with the director denying a move upon determining them suitable for teens. The board recently turned down a request to revisit that decision in light of the new state policies.
A fundraiser has been initiated by Read Freely Alabama to help the Fairhope library with the $42,000 in state funding it lost. As of late March 2025, the group has amassed an impressive $8,000. The APLS board also parted ways with Nancy Pack, who had led the library service since 2014 and was honored as a distinguished alumnus of the University of Tennessee's School of Information Sciences. Pack has spent over three decades as a librarian and has always held the belief that libraries should remain non-political, voicing concerns about the increasingly adverse environment for librarians and libraries.
- Despite the shock and disappointment expressed by Randal Wright, the secretary of the Fairhope Public Library, the APLS board has forced the library to comply with new state policies, relocating books deemed inappropriate for children or youth out of the teen section in order to maintain state funding.
- In Fairhope, Alabama, the local Fairhope Public Library has found itself in the middle of a national debate about library content and programs, as it struggles to adapt to the new policies implemented by the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) in 2023.
- In an effort to support the Fairhope Public Library after the loss of $42,000 in state funding, Read Freely Alabama has initiated a fundraiser, having already amassed an impressive $8,000 as of late March 2025.
