Alabama’s state library board on Thursday voted to cut Fairhope Public Library’s $42,000 in state funding because it allegedly didn’t comply with new library codes. But the decision came a month after the head of the state library board gave Fairhope supporters assurances that the library was in compliance.

John Wahl, chairman of the Alabama State Library Services board of directors and chair of the Alabama State GOP, wrote in a Feb. 7 email that the Fairhope Public Library was in compliance with revisions last year to the Alabama Public Library Services code.

Wahl’s email was in response to a letter signed by over 100 Fairhope parents who accused him of prioritizing the concerns of Moms for Liberty, a right-wing group that has pushed to remove or relocate books deemed harmful to children.

Related: ‘Extremists’: Alabama GOP chair, anti-censorship group blast each other over libraries

Wahl, who was not immediately available for comment Friday, said during Thursday’s state library board meeting that Fairhope is refusing to look at books or give parents redress agreements, according to a report by Alabama Reflector.

The funding cut was described in a news release as “temporary” and that funding would be restored if Fairhope library officials comply by state guidelines.

“The APLS Board has a strong track record of defending parental rights and safeguarding children from sexually explicit material,” Wahl’s statement reads. “Recent code changes made it clear that local libraries had to relocate inappropriate content from youth sections. 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.”

Surprise cut

Wahl’s statement also reads that he looks forward to working with Fairhope officials to resolve the matter so funding can be restored.

The funding cut came as a surprise to Fairhope officials, with Mayor Sherry Sullivan stating she was unaware of the situation and lacked information on why funding was pulled.

“I got notification (Thursday) from the Friends of the Library president that APLS had pulled state funding,” Sullivan said. “They didn’t know why or what books. They are waiting today to get information apparently from the APLS.”

Library board members also said they were unaware of what might happen during the APLS board meeting.

Randal Wright, the board’s secretary, said the local library board had “no warning, no idea” that the cut was coming.

“We’re all devastated, gobsmacked,” she said. “We just can’t quite believe it.”

Sullivan said she understood that one of the books in question had been sold. She is also asking what kind of appeals process the APLS has in place and is asking how long it will take to come into compliance.

“We were never notified of anything,” Sullivan said about the potential violations to the APLS code that could result in a cut of funding.

Sullivan said it’s unlikely that the Fairhope City Council will want to provide the funding to supplant the state funding cut.

Fairhope Public Library supporters are launching a grassroots effort to raise funds and are blaming Moms for Liberty for the funding cut.

“The people of Fairhope overwhelmingly support our library, and we will not see it fall victim to censorship,” said Elizabeth Williams, the Baldwin County chapter organizer with Read Freely Alabama.

Moms for Liberty

Library supporters also blame Wahl of conspiring with Moms for Liberty, led in Baldwin County by Rebecca Watson.

She was at the meeting Thursday in Montgomery, and read passages of the 2009 novel, “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins. The book is located in the library’s teen section. It’s a book that dives into touchy issues like drug and sexual abuse and suicide and was among the 10 most banned books in the U.S. last year, according to PEN America.

Other books cited at the Fairhope library, as cited by a representative of Clean Up Alabama, include: “Sex is a Funny Word,” “Boy Toy,” “Last Night at the Telegraph Club,” “Beyond Magenta, Trans+: Love, Sex and Being You.”

The letter accuses Moms for Liberty of sowing division and undermining individual liberty in Fairhope.

“They do not represent the values of our community,” the letter reads. “Their attempts to restrict and control access to words and ideas are wholly antithetical to the spirt of Fairhope, a town founded by utopian free-thinkers who were inspired by an idea they read in a book.”

The letter also states that most parents in Fairhope trust the library and staff to provide safe, welcoming spaces for children to learn, grow and explore. Prior to the libraries becoming hot beds for the national culture wars in recent years, there have been no other issues raised in the past about content within the Fairhope Public Library.

Watson, in an email last month to AL.com, said the APLS policies are clear in that if libraries are not compliant with APLS standards, their funding will be at risk.

“If these policies are not satisfactory, it is the responsibility of those who disagree to address them with APLS,” Watson said. She said the Fairhope library had complied with the tiered library card system implemented by the APLS last year as part of the policy changes. The library also developed a material selection policy, she said.

Fairhope has a three-tiered library card system with restricted access cards for teens (ages 13-17) and juveniles (ages 3-12), as well as all-access cards.

“However, they have refused to move the books that are in violation and that is where the problem lies,” Watson said. It’s unclear exactly what titles are causing the concerns.

“You can develop policies, but that does not make you compliant,” she said. “To be compliant, you have to follow the policies.”

Watson defended Moms for Liberty by saying the group “is supporting our libraries by ensuring they remain compliant, so funding is not jeopardized. We love our libraries and our children, and our request is simple: move the books that violate APLS policies to the adult section so our libraries do not risking losing funding.

Watson also accuses the people who do not oppose the relocation of the books for not reading them, nor visiting the children’s section to see them, including city council members and Sullivan.

“Unfortunately, some librarians have, unbeknownst to parents, shelved inappropriate materials in the children’s section,” Watson said. “We all have the right to voice our opinions, but policies must be upheld. The majority of residents in Fairhope and Baldwin County are in agreement, children should be protected, we have an obligation, and our state and city-funded libraries have a responsibility to listen.”

Policy concerns

The policies drafted and approved by the APLS continue to raise concerns about vagueness and censorship.

Read Freely Alabama has long challenged the policies, claiming they are constitutionally questionable. The group filed a federal lawsuit challenging restrictive policies adopted in 2023 by the Autauga-Prattville Library, alleging they violate the First Amendment.

The policies have significant ramifications. Without APLS approval, libraries could lose state aid, creating major budgetary issues. APLS distributes state aid funding to libraries quarterly on a per capita basis.

Libraries have been Ground Zero for the culture wars in the United States in recent years, pitting conservative groups against library proponents. The focus has been mainly on LGBTQ-focused titles in young adult sections, which groups like Clean Up Alabama and Moms for Liberty have argued are more suitable for adult sections in libraries.

Read Freely Alabama and other library proponents say the conservative activists are seeking to censor content inside public venues. Words like “pedophiles,” “groomers” and “authoritarianism” have animated the debate at school board, city council and state legislative body meetings for the past several years.

The issue in Alabama is unlikely to be resolved soon. At the APLS board meeting Thursday, Nancy Pack was terminated as the director of the state library service. She expressed concern about the board’s ideology regarding public libraries in Alabama.

Reporter Williesha Mooris contributed to this report.