The Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) voted to pause $40,000 in funding to the Fairhope Public Library after the anti-LGBTQ+ activist groups Clean Up Alabama and Moms for Liberty complained that the library had failed to abide by recent LGBTQ+ book bans. However, a fundraiser quickly replaced the funding and then some.

The APLS recently introduced a new rule for categorizing books in a three-tiered system for adults, teens, and children, following complaints about LGBTQ+ themes in books. The aforementioned activist groups argued that LGBTQ+ books should be classified as adults and later complained that Fairhope Public Library failed to abide by these rules.

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Fairhope library officials said that they had a recent letter from an APLS board member and John Wahl, chair of the state Republican Party, confirming that the library had confirmed with the APLS tier system. However, Wahl and the board ultimately took the side of the conservative groups, voting to pause funding to the library pending further review and investigation.

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“Our goal is not to punish anyone but to ensure that all libraries receiving state funding adhere to the established standards that protect our children,” Wahl said in an email sent to AL.com.

Fairhope, Alabama is known for being a hub of writers and artists in the south, making the APLS’s decision on Monday a topic of outrage among local residents that has generated national attention.

“I don’t like the fact that anyone can go to Montgomery and make some comments and cause a pause in funding without further investigation,” Fairhope City Councilman Jack Burrell said.

Passionate about free speech, the local anti-censorship activist organization Read Freely Alabama created a fundraiser to cover the loss in funding. 

“Months of targeted attacks, stacking the APLS board, and conspiring with [Alabama Republican Party] chair John Wahl finally paid off for Moms for Liberty and Clean Up Alabama,” the fundraising page read. “Under Chairman Wahl’s leadership, state funding has been stripped from the Fairhope library for shelving age-appropriate sex education materials in the young adult section.”

As of today, the fundraiser has surpassed its $40,000 goal, reaching over $46,000 by Monday afternoon.

In related news, the APLS Board also voted to fire APLS Director Nancy Pack, who had been vocal about keeping books available to all readers. Pack had previously submitted her letter of resignation effective September of this year. 

Upon learning of her resignation, Republican Board member Amy Minton immediately introduced a motion to terminate Pack’s employment.

“This is not personal,” Minton said at the meeting. “I want to thank Dr. Pack for her service to the APLS organization. I appreciate that she recognizes the need for her resignation. However, I believe that APLS needs new leadership and direction.”

The board approved the Motion to fire Pack and denied her additional time to collect her belongings, telling her she would have to collect and remove her items immediately.

“After this thing at the board meeting today, and after all the things that they wanted to do, it just pointed out how much I do not want to work for this board and support their ideology of what public libraries in Alabama should be,” Pack said to reporters from the Alabama Reflector.

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