Alabamians react to public library service leaving the American Library Association; AL.com, November 3, 2023

  

Williesha Morris, AL.com; Alabamians react to public library service leaving the American Library Association

"North Shelby library director Kate Etheredge said in an email she’s disheartened by this decision and that ALA’s Library Bill of Rights is “a plain-text explanation of the First Amendment when viewed through a library lens.”

“We can change our policy wording to remove ALA, but the guiding principles of the First Amendment would remain the same,” Etheredge, a member of the ALA, said. “Public libraries exist to provide information and access to all. We do not censor. We do not promote. We make a variety of information and services available and ask our patrons to respect that differences exist among us.”

Etheredge said moving books will “create a barrier to access” for library patrons and create a “slippery slope where each successive patron who feels a book is controversial would also need to be accommodated, and their beliefs may not be the same as the initial group.”...

Conservative interest group Eagle Forum, in a statement, commended the people who “stood against obscene graphic illustrations and agenda driven literature in children’s sections of our libraries.” The group said withdrawing from the ALA was “a step in the right direction” and hopes libraries follow Pack’s recommendations.

“We are hopeful that future library selections will include classic children’s literature which has uplifted and instructed generations of Americans while upholding such timeless values as truth, honesty, beauty, loyalty, love, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control,” said president Eunie Smith. She added children should be “engaged, enthralled, inspired and instructed” with content that’s age appropriate and follows the Golden Rule."

Florida joins conservative states severing ties with national library group; Politico, October 31, 2023

ANDREW ATTERBURY , Politico; Florida joins conservative states severing ties with national library group

"Florida is among the latest conservative-leaning states to sever connections with the nation’s oldest library organization after the nonprofit became embroiled in the ongoing culture war over what books should be available to students.

The agency in charge of Florida’s public libraries issued a new rule in October forbidding any grant activities tied to the American Library Association, a 150-year-old organization that aids thousands of libraries across the country with training and funding.

The move by the DeSantis administration puts Florida in line with a cadre of Republican states and lawmakers leveling scrutiny on ALA, labeling the group as “toxic” and a “conduit” for exposing children to pornography — claims refuted by the organization and its supporters.

Conservatives in a growing number of states, including Alabama, Wyoming, Missouri, Texas and now Florida, have severed affiliations with the ALA, in part over the group choosing a new president, Emily Drabinski, who in 2022 tweeted that she’s a “Marxist.”...

How the rule will affect local libraries is currently unclear. Libraries pay for ALA memberships that grant access to benefits such as discounts on professional development and education products."

Inside Clean Up Alabama’s plan to jail librarians for giving LGBTQ+ books to kids; Alabama Political Reporter, September 7, 2023

 JACOB HOLMES, Alabama Political Reporter; Inside Clean Up Alabama’s plan to jail librarians for giving LGBTQ+ books to kids

"At Tuesday’s council meeting, Prattville residents affiliated with Clean Up Alabama, which began as Clean Up Prattville, pleaded with the council that their solutions were a “common sense” approach to inappropriate materials for minors.

But the local goals are just one part of a three-prong plan that Clean Up Alabama has to push the issue across the state, according to meeting minutes included in an email to subscribers.

The minutes detailed the group’s local goals, as well as its goals with the Alabama Public Library Service, primarily to dissociate from the American Library Association. Gov. Kay Ivey has sent a letter to APLS Director Dr. Nancy Pack expressing concerns that closely follow Clean-Up Alabama’s push over LGBTQ materials in library spaces intended for minors.

But the meeting also included three state legislative goals, which go much further than simply severing any ties with the ALA or asking librarians to move books to an adult section."

Michael Hubbard, Alabama House Speaker, Is Convicted on 12 Felony Ethics Charges; New York Times, 6/10/16

Alan Blinder, New York Times; Michael Hubbard, Alabama House Speaker, Is Convicted on 12 Felony Ethics Charges:

"His conviction and automatic ouster immediately increased the political turmoil that had shadowed Alabama for months, and made it something of a punch line. The chief justice of the State Supreme Court, Roy S. Moore, could be removed from office this year because of his efforts to resist same-sex marriage, and Mr. Bentley is a subject of impeachment proceedings over an improper relationship with an aide, as well as federal and state inquiries.

“It’s a sad day in the state because people have a distrust in government when you look around all three branches,” State Senator Cam Ward, a Republican, said in an interview after the verdict was announced. “This kind of affirms what people have been thinking.”

Mr. Bentley declined to comment through a spokeswoman, but the state’s attorney general, Luther Strange, also a Republican, welcomed the verdict.

“This is a good day for the rule of law in our state,” said Mr. Strange, who added that the decision “should send a clear message that in Alabama, we hold public officials accountable for their actions.”"