Fabiana Chaparro, CNN; Alabama public library system mistakenly flags children’s book as ‘sexually explicit’ because author’s last name is Gay
"An Alabama public library system says it mistakenly added a children’s picture book to a list of books containing explicit material because the author’s last name is Gay.
The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library system accidentally labeled the book, “Read Me a Story, Stella,” by Marie-Louise Gay, as “potentially inappropriate” during an internal review of sexually explicit books in the children’s and young adult sections of the county’s ten libraries.
The library system admitted to the mistake this week after receiving backlash from internal library system staff and the local community.
Cindy Hewitt, the library’s executive director, told CNN the picture book was labeled as containing potentially explicit material after an automated keyword search turned up the word “gay” in the book’s title, author name or subject line.
But, she said, the purpose of the review was never to ban or censor books that dealt with topics related to LGBTQ+ issues, gender identity, race or racism.
Instead, in response to widespread efforts to ban books across the country, Hewitt said the library system wanted to survey its catalog and take steps to preempt any state efforts to ban books.
“We decided, as a whole, to look at all our collection and see what was likely to be challenged, with the purpose of protecting our collection and making sure it stayed intact,” Hewitt said. “(The) opposite of banning, we were trying to protect.”
Library managers conducted the review using a list of books provided by Clean Up Alabama, a group that claims Alabama libraries offer books “intended to confuse the children of our communities about sexuality and expose them to material that is inappropriate for them.”
The organization says it works to protect “the well-being and innocence of children by advocating for a safe and enriching environment in the children’s sections of our public libraries,” according to its website."
