APLS Board Meeting July 17 Promises More Fireworks
Moms for Liberty, Read Freely Alabama are encouraging their members to attend, speak
The Alabama Public Library Service Board will be meeting in Montgomery on July 17 at 10:00 AM at the APLS Building, 6030 Monticello Drive, Montgomery, AL 36117.
The agenda is expected to include discussion of recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court as well as the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Persons interested in speaking should contact Victoria Carr at vcarr@apls.state.al.us to complete a Request to Speak. Speaking time has been reduced from 3 to 2 minutes, as a large number of speakers are anticipated.
Activist groups Read Feely Alabama and Moms for Liberty are encouraging their memberships to attend. A notice by Read Freely, sent to their membership and obtained by ALPolitics.com states, in part:
“It's vital that our members attend because the APLS Board will be discussing and voting on amendments to ban books that have LGBTQ+ representation, with a heavy emphasis on materials that positively discuss and portray transgender people.
“We need Read Freely Alabama members to pack the room and sign-up to speak against these unconstitutional amendments. If you are uncomfortable speaking, please consider attending instead to pack the room and show the Board that the majority of Alabamians are against these decisions.
“After our amazing turnout in May, Moms For Liberty will be rallying their supporters to fill that room. We can't let them appear to have the majority.”
APLS Board Member Amy Minton spoke with ALPolitics.com about the upcoming meeting:
“While we greatly appreciate everyone being asked to speak at the APLS meeting, it's important to note that the public hearing addressing changes in the Alabama State Code was completed and the new Code updated officially on July 15, 2024. I have read the comment that we didn't make any changes based on the speakers at the last APLS meeting and that is because the Alabama Code has already been updated. We did vote to resend definitions as an APLS Board to all of the public libraries for clarity.
“We want every family in Alabama to feel welcome in our public libraries. Parents who want their children to have broader access to materials have that ability, but at the same time, parents who do not want their children exposed to sexually explicit content should have confidence that their child will not accidentally stumble across inappropriate books in our youth sections. The APLS standards were written to reflect this balance and to respect the viewpoints of all Alabamians,” Minton concluded.
APLS Board meetings are open to the public in keeping with Alabama’s Open Meetings Act, but speakers must be added to the agenda in advance.
