Prattville native Kaitlan Collins: Alabama libraries should not be ‘political battlegrounds’

Kaitlan Collins, host of CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” and a Prattville native, is speaking out against the politicization of libraries amid book challenges.

Collins has long spoken out against misinformation and does not shy away from controversial topics. She covered the White House’s response to national topics of interest like the COVID-19 pandemic and the unrest after the death of George Floyd amid a national racial reckoning.

Her CNN colleague Jake Tapper has called Collins as “an activist for truth and facts.”

“As someone who loved going to the library growing up, it’s so disappointing to see what’s happening in my hometown, where the library’s director was fired for simply fulfilling an open records request. Libraries should be havens for curious kids to learn, not political battlegrounds,” Collins said in a Tweet.

Many Prattville residents protested after the dismissal of the Autauga-Prattville Library director and at least four staff members who protested his firing.

Autauga-Prattville Library Board of Trustees Chairman Ray Boles said Foster’s termination came after Foster gave a reporter redacted emails about the new book policy and about potentially moving more than 100 children’s and young adult books to the adult section that discussed “sexual orientation, gender identity or gender discordance.

Protests continue as the board trustees appointed a new interim director on Saturday, just days after the slew of terminations.