APLS Letter

Alabama Public Library Service Board of Directors

On July 16th, John Wahl, chair of the Alabama Public Library Service Board, and the Alabama Republican Party, sent a letter to library directors across the state advising them to “take immediate steps to review their collections, programming, and policies to ensure that no federal grant funds are used to promote gender ideology.” Ostensibly, this letter instructs public libraries to comply with Trump’s anti-trans executive order 14168, which is currently under litigation, or else lose federal funding. It is clear, however, based on statements made by Wahl, that his true aim is to eradicate transgender and gender non-conforming people as well as the books and materials in our libraries that portray their experiences. This is immoral, unconstitutional, well outside of the APLS’s purview, and wholly contrary to the ethical and professional standards of public libraries.

This comes after the defunding of the Fairhope Public Library and the raucous calls of a loud minority to further erase and alienate transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people. We ask all of our community across the state to cosign this letter with us to support the tireless work librarians do, for ALL Alabamians.

To: Alabama Public Library Service Board of Directors
From: [Your Name]

We are deeply concerned for the future of public libraries in Alabama, and we urge the Alabama Public Library Service to take decisive action to protect the constitutional rights, professional integrity, and intellectual freedom that public libraries are meant to uphold. Rather than caving to pressure from politically motivated groups demanding ideological conformity, we ask you to affirm your duty to the whole public by taking stances that preserve liberty, intellectual freedom, the right to information, and the right to read.

Specifically, we urge APLS to take the following actions in direct support of community representation, individual autonomy, and constitutional rights:

• Cease any and all consideration of requirements for state funding that would restrict, censor, or remove materials that include transgender voices or experiences, including the current proposal to amend the Administrative Code.
• Affirm that Alabama public libraries and their staff are expected to follow the U.S. Constitution, federal civil rights laws, and professional ethical standards, not preemptively comply with executive orders or directives still under active litigation.
• Honor, protect, and celebrate librarians who stand firm in defense of equitable access to information and ideas.
• Support the autonomy of local library boards across the state rather than impose standardized board policies designed to control local decision-making. This includes both empowering individual library boards to enact reconsideration policies that suit their communities and respecting the final decisions of these boards.
• Invest in education and training for library staff and trustees to help them navigate controversial topics and book challenges with confidence, legal grounding, and an unwavering commitment to public service.

Our children deserve to grow up in a state that protects their right to think, question, and explore, not one that erases voices or ideas out of fear. Transgender people, including and especially our youth, deserve to find information and stories that value their existence and can even save their lives. Use the power of your position to affirm Alabama’s commitment to liberty, justice, and truth.

Do not allow our public libraries to be weaponized for culture wars. Lead libraries into a future where they are centers of intellectual freedom, free speech, and accessible education for all.