Library board members say Senate bill a 'double edged sword'

Jan. 16—A new bill pre-filed in the Alabama State Senate would grant city and/or county officials the ability to remove appointed members of local library boards at their discretion.

SB10, which was pre-filed by Sen. Chris Elliot (R-Baldwin County), states "Each library board member shall be appointed to a four-year term and shall serve at the pleasure of their respective appointing authority and may be removed at any time by a majority vote of the appointing authority."

The bill follows the almost year-long campaign of the Prattville-based "parental rights" group, Clean Up Alabama, to remove books containing LGBT content and characters from public libraries across the state. These efforts have been supported by several Republican lawmakers, including Gov. Kay Ivey, who have alluded to taking legislative action to withhold state level funding to libraries that refuse to remove or relocate challenged books.

Cullman County Library board member Tonya Allcorn expressed mixed emotions to the bill which she said could have both positive and negative ramifications.

"I think there are definitely some instances and certain scenarios such as a board member suddenly falling ill or beginning to lose cognizance, where this could be beneficial to both the county commission and the library board. It will be abused, for sure, that's just human nature but it could also be used as a positive thing as well," Allcorn said.

The Foley Public Library in Elliot's District was one of three public libraries called out by Gov. Ivey in a letter sent to Alabama Public Library Service Director Nancy Pack in September 2023 to express her concerns over "the exposure of children and youth to inappropriate, sexually suggestive materials."

Elliot said the bill is not connected to the wave of library book challenges, but was inspired by a recent question from a mayor in his district about how board members can be removed. He said, after researching the issue he found other municipal leaders had raised similar concerns during the last year.

"There was some news about this in Prattville and Dale County and some other instances where the appointing authority has wanted to remove a member for whatever reason and they're not able to. Just on the level of the way government functions, I thought that was ridiculous. Whoever makes the appointment should be able to 'un-make' it, I mean we're not talking about a federal judgeship here, this is the local library board," Elliot said.

The Ozark-Dale Public Library and the Autauga-Prattville Public Libraries were also mentioned in Ivey's letter to Pack.

Krysti Shallenberger, head of the Cullman County Chapter of Read Freely Alabama, said she felt the bill is an attempt to politicize libraries which may chip away at their non-partisan foundations.

"This bill is definitely concerning because, I think, it strips away a layer of insulation from politicizing libraries," Shallenberger said. "If there is consensus to politicize a library board to inject a personal world view, it injects a level of uncertainty in how a library board will function."

Elliot said he rejects the notion that the bill is partisan in nature. He said his goal is simply to ensure libraries remain in line with the values of their individual communities.

"This is just about the people having a say in how they are governed. The people and their representatives should have a say in how their library board is governing them and the library," Elliot said.

Reactions from library officials were mixed. Pell City Library Director Danny Stewart said his board was fortunate to have a close relationship with city councilmembers and doesn't have any concerns over possible effects the bill may have.

"At this point I don't think it's a concern of our particular library board," Stewart said. "We've been familiar with the various issues surrounding libraries over the last several months, but we pay attention to our mayor and council. One of the councilmembers is the liaison between the council and the library board and he comes to our meetings."

Elliot proposed cutting $5 million in state funding to the Alabama Department of Archives and History Board of Trustees after the department hosted a lunchtime lecture regarding LGBT history in the South last June.

The bill ultimately died at the end of the 2023 legislative session, but Elliot has continued these efforts with SB5, pre-filed in November 2023. The bill — cosponsored by Sen. Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman), Sen. Lance Bell (R-St. Clair), Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Madison) and Sen. Keith Kelley (R-Calhoun) — would remove any current members from the department's board of trustees to be replaced with appointees by the governor, lieutenant governor, House speaker and president pro tempore of the Senate.

Elliot said both bills are designed to hold appointed boards accountable, but otherwise are unrelated.

"Those bills are very similar in just one respect. That is that the board should be responsible to somebody," Elliot said. "My goal here is to make sure these boards are ultimately responsible to the people that they serve."

Like Allcorn, Cullman County Library board member Jill Meggs said her first reaction to the bill was that it was a bit of a "double edged sword." She said there was value in creating safeguards for a few select circumstances when a board member needed to be removed. She said she also hopes libraries are able to remain neutral zones throughout any ongoing culture wars.

"I think that is the kind of tricky road we are navigating right now. So many things in our lives are politicized right now that shouldn't be. In my mind a library is not political in any way. It's a place for literature, research, thought and collaboration. To me, it serves the same purpose as a public school. Anyone who walks through those doors is seeking knowledge and knowledge isn't your core belief system. It's educating yourself. It's learning and growing. It's understanding outside of your limited scope. To me, that's what a library is. It's the gateway to knowledge and not a political forum," Meggs said.