The North Shelby library board is concerned a bill that would allow Alabama politicians to appoint board members is part of an effort to “politicize library boards throughout the state in order to control library collections to suit their own agenda.”

Rep. Arnold Mooney (R) filed HB89, which allows Shelby County state representatives to appoint library board members instead of a voter election. The bill is pending action by the Shelby County Legislation Committee, chaired by Mooney.

The North Shelby Public Library is unique in Alabama. The library, founded in 1988 by a legislative act and a majority vote by residents, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with no city or county governing body that typically oversees financial operations and human resources.

According to a statement by the board and the library’s website, about 24,000 property owners pay a $15 annual assessment, which funds 96% of the two branches’ operating budget of about $1.5 million.

Library director Kate Etheredge and a business manager handle the day-to-day operations of the library’s 25-person staff. The board oversees the library’s finances and annual planning. One board member is listed on the mortgage, which Etheredge said the library obtained to expand one of the branches.

“If I need a new roof, I have to find the money to pay for a new roof out of our budget,” Etheredge said.

The five-member volunteer board has few applicants, so a special election funded by the library is rarely held.

“In the past, we haven’t had a whole bunch of people just lined up waiting to take on the responsibility of running a library,” Etheredge said.

This may change because residents have packed library board meetings statewide since book challenges and other issues regarding inappropriate material for children have cropped up. Etheredge said several people have expressed interest in running for the board.

“The people who are interested in serving on the library board would file paperwork with the probate judge,” Etheredge said. If the judge has more than one person asking to be in the same place, “then that would trigger the need to have an actual, physical election.”

If HB89 passes, three members of the Shelby County delegation, including Mooney and bill co-sponsors Reps. Jim Carns (R) and Susan DuBose (R), would remove current board members and appoint new ones. The representatives haven’t returned requests for comment.

The board said high visitor traffic at both branches is a sign that “patrons, including parents, have no fear of ‘indoctrination,’ no fear of a book on a shelf, and no fear of a children’s librarian ‘grooming’ anyone. These patrons are making a statement with their feet. They walk into the library every day. One thing they say they fear, though, is the government interfering with their rights to choose what books to read or to have in their library.”