The head of the Alabama Republican Party said the amount of grants the American Library Association provides to public libraries is not enough for the state to continue supporting the organization.

But GOP Chairman John Wahl, speaking to AL.com on Friday, said he is awaiting on an opinion from Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office on how libraries might be affected by a disassociation from the American Library Association (ALA).

Wahl’s comments come after the ALA, in a two-page write-up to AL.com, provided an explanation of its support for Alabama’s libraries from 2019-2023. Among them, was securing $293,200 in grants since 2021, which were doled out to 36 libraries throughout the state.

“That’s less than $15,000 a year for libraries across Alabama,” Wahl said. “We’re not talking about a lot of financial support.”

Other highlights from the ALA include:

• Since 2021, the grants secured by the ALA and issued to libraries in Alabama went toward digital training workshops, bolstering technology in small and rural libraries, STEM resources, and other professional development and resources to help libraries in their communities.
• The ALA has advocated for increases in annual appropriations to the state libraries. The largest funder of libraries on the federal level – the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which has secured an increase of $376,724 or 13% in annual funding since 2019. The money is utilized by the Alabama State Library to fund programs and operations on the local level.
• ALA says it played a crucial role during the pandemic, providing guidance to librarians and essential services for their communities. The state got $3.1 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to support libraries.
• ALA biggest contribution to libraries is supporting professional development for library workers (40%), membership engagement (21%), and advocating for the preservation of library services (14%).

Explosive tweet

The ALA’s information comes at a time in which the organization has become a political lightning rod throughout the nation, but particularly in conservative states like Alabama where calls are growing for libraries to dissociate from the group based largely on the organization’s support of disputed books. Most of those books have LGBTQ+ or racial themes, which conservatives find concerning to have displayed in front of children and teens.

Another growing concern seem to focus on the organization’s president, Emily Drabinski, whose tweet in April 2022 set off a furious backlash nationwide – including in Alabama – and has increased calls for libraries to move away from the 147-year-old ALA.

Libraries in Missouri, Montana, and Texas have already dissociated from the group. GOP lawmakers in Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina and Wyoming are also pushing their states to withdraw from the ALA.

The since-deleted tweet from Drabinski came after she was elected to her post. It read, “I just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect of @ALALibrary. I am so excited for what we will do together. Solidarity! And my mom is SO PROUD. I love you mom.”

Drabinski has since said she regrets the tweet. She told The New York Times last week that she wished she could go “back in time and push that tweet right back in the bottle,” saying it represented “an excited utterance for me and my friends.”

The ALA, a nonprofit that has long fought back against book bans, has denied it has a political agenda. It has said it remains nonpartisan.

Wahl and others are not backing down. They say the organization is led by a “Marxist” and have used Drabinski’s tweet as fodder for defunding the group.

State Rep. Susan Dubose, R-Hoover, a conservative lawmaker who has criticized the ALA, said the issue is not just about one person temporarily atop the association. She said Drabinski’s tweet “sheds light” on the organization, and that supporters who elected her to the post “must agree with her.”

Dubose said that she hopes Alabama disassociates from the organization. She said if neither the Alabama Public Library Service’s executive board or local library boards around the state do not take action and revoke their annual memberships, she will consider pitching legislation next spring requiring them to do so.

“I think that is something we may look into,” she said. “But I would like that to be handled by our APLS and local library boards. I believe in local rule as much as possible.”

Professional organization

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s office says it has “serious concerns” about continuing affiliations with the ALA. She recently expressed concerns about the family-friendly environment of Alabama’s libraries via a letter sent to Nancy Pack, the director of APLS.

A spokeswoman for the governor said Wednesday that the office is reviewing an official response the APLS sent to them.

The bottom line is that she — like families all over the state — want our children to be able to pick up a book and read and for the libraries to be a safe space for that,” said Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola.

Pack, during a Sept. 15 appearance on Capitol Journal, said ALA “does a lot of things” and was instrumental in guiding libraries during the pandemic.

She also said that ALA has “no say so” on the type of books displayed by local libraries.

“It goes back to your local community,” Pack said during the interview.

Matthew Layne, president of the Alabama Library Association – a chapter of the ALA – said the national organization serves as a professional organization that offers librarians guidance on best practices and educational opportunities. The organization is primarily funded through personal membership dues, Layne said. It’s unclear how much in dues the ALA collects from Alabama.

Layne said that ALA members host educational workshops like “Serving the Alzheimer’s/Dementia Community in Public Libraries,” and programs that “make us better librarians.” One grant that ALA received, Layne said, helps provide financial literacy and college and workforce training skills lessons for teenagers.

“When we talk about ALA, we are not talking about a sinister cabal,” Layne said. “We are talking about our parents, our siblings, and our neighbors who chose the profession of librarian to serve their communities.”

Wahl, a member of the APLS executive board, denied that the effort to withdraw from ALA had to do with a national effort by conservatives to weaken public libraries, or defund them.

“I would not have taken the appointment (to be on the Alabama Public Library Services) board if I wasn’t supportive of libraries,” Wahl said. “They provide a great service to the people of Alabama. We saw that during COVID. It was a resource.”

He added, “It’s why it’s so important that we clean up this situation and make sure the public is aware that we want libraries to support Alabama values and that they feel safe, so we want (families) to bring their children to libraries.”

This story was updated at 7:05 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2023, to include comments from Gov. Kay Ivey’s office.