FAIRHOPE, Ala. (WPMI) — The Fairhope Library is moving five books to the adult section after the material in them was challenged for not being appropriate for young readers. The library’s board voted Monday after board members read the books. Nine other books that were challenged are staying put in the teen section.
“The library board had 14 books that they voted on and made decisions about placement,” said Library Director Robert Gourlay.
Boy Toy, Damsel, The Haters, and Tricks are moving to the adult fiction section and Sex is a Funny Word is now going to the parenting section of the library. Gourlay says the board reviewed the books after the state library board withheld funding in March due to complaints about these books.
“Each book that was on this list two different board members, and we have five board members, read the whole book, and then discussions took place yesterday,” said Gourlay.
Gourlay says the board considered explicit language and sexual content. Beyond Magenta, Crank, Doing It, Identical, Lighter than My Shadow, Shine, The Handmaids Tale, The Hate U Give, The Perks of Being a Wallflower will remain in the teen section. Gourlay says board members discussed how these books tackle difficult subjects, like sexual and substance abuse.
“They talked about how important some of these topics would be for young people to have access to, some challenging topics that might be useful for a teen to read about and maybe deter them from getting into some bad situations,” said Gourlay.
In March, the state library board held back $21,000 or half of Fairhope Library’s annual state funding due to alleged inappropriate sexual content found in the teen section. Gourlay says in response they received more than $46,000 in donations. Alabama Public Library Service Board Chairman John Wahl says Fairhope is the only library the board has withheld funding from due to the content found in young reader sections.
“The board felt like we had no choice. We were left with no choice but to address the issue on the state level. So, we had parents from Fairhope come before the board, present some books that contained obviously sexually explicit comment, some of it was incredibly vulgar, shocking,” said Wahl. “The board felt it was imperative that we enforce the state code, that we made sure that we protect our children, that we make sure that parents who are worried about their child accidentally stumbling across this material in their library had a redress of grievance that we heard from them.”
Wahl says the commonsense solution is simple- move books that aren’t age appropriate to the adult section and parents can decide if their children can check out adult material. Gourlay says about half of parents have signed a consent form allowing their children to check out adult books.
“I’m glad that they have moved some of the books, and I think that highlights that we do have an issue. You know, the parents do have a genuine concern, and there is a real problem here. You know, everyone agrees that some of these books are inappropriate and they need to be moved to the adult section, where innocent children won’t stumble upon them,” said Wahl.
The Fairhope Library Board tabled a vote on one book Like a Love Story because only one board member read it. The board could vote on whether or not to move that book at its next meeting in August. The state library board meets next month. Wahl says they will review the actions Fairhope Library has taken.
“The question is going to be, do the books that they have left in the library contain sexually explicit content? There are no loopholes. There are no gray areas. If there is sexually explicit content, it must be removed from youth sections in order for the library to be able to get state funding,” said Wahl. “If they request immediate reinstatement of state funds, we will absolutely listen to that request.”
