February 9, 2026

I and other AUUF congregants attended a League of Women Voters discussion on the state of our public libraries in Alabama. The organization leading the fight against library censorship is Read Freely Alabama (RFA), a volunteer non-profit organization.

Censorship is increasingly surrounding us in the United States, and one of the most significant battlegrounds is our public libraries. In Alabama, both “direct censorship and soft censorship” are occurring in our public library system. The Alabama Public Library Service (APLS)—the group that determines who receives state library funding—has become a central player in this controversy. Currently chaired by John Wahl from District 5, the APLS has threatened communities like Fairhope with defunding if they don’t remove books deemed harmful, pornographic, or unsuitable for young readers.

Fairhope, with help from RFA, raised the $41,000 the APLS had withheld. Other communities like Opelika have refused state funds altogether to maintain control over their book selections. The problem with APLS’s initiative to withhold state funds is clear: smaller, poorer libraries will have to comply with censorship demands or lose their much-needed state funding.

As the discussion continued, speakers highlighted ways Alabamians can resist these APLS challenges:

1. Attend library board meetings
2. Check out challenged and banned books
3. Sign up for the RFA newsletter
4. Stay informed about what your local library is doing regarding censorship
5. Get to know your librarians

Background from Alabama Reflector (October 22, 2025):

Conservative groups over the last two years have pushed at the state and local level to restrict or remove library books they call sexually explicit or inappropriate for children. Critics say the groups are targeting any book with LGBTQ+ characters or themes.

These attacks are part of a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the last five years that has criminalized gender-affirming medical care in Alabama and imposed a “Don’t Say Gay” law in elementary schools.

In summer 2024, the APLS board approved amendments requiring local libraries to develop policies preventing children from accessing materials that are “sexually explicit or inappropriate for children or youth”—or risk losing state funding.

The administrative law change currently under consideration, which the board voted to consider adding to the code in July, states that “any material that promotes, encourages, or positively depicts transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders shall be considered inappropriate for children and youth.”

Amy Minton, an APLS Board member and Republican candidate for state Senate in Etowah County, proposed the change earlier this year. In an interview after Tuesday’s meeting, she said the change would align the board with “two laws that codify the definition of male and female as fixed and objective at birth, biological facts,” while also citing an executive order from President Donald Trump earlier this year prohibiting the use of federal dollars to promote “gender ideology.”

Take Action:

Another important step you can take is to contact your state legislature to ensure SB 26 does not make it to the floor. This bill needs to be stopped: https://www.readfreelyalabama.org/make_the_call_to_stop_sb26

The RFA website has an abundance of information regarding legislative and APLS attempts to ban books. Please take some time to acquaint yourself with these issues and support your local library to ensure all readers have the right to read anything they choose.

Thank you to Sara Kapp, a League of Women Voters member and AUUF congregant, for informing us about these ongoing events with the League.