This is great, Victoria. More bad news here in Alabama. Will send links soon, but until then you should be able to find some if you search for Huntsville Madison Public Library.
An awful law was passed in Alabama last year (the first of its kind in the nation) that allows the state to withhold state funds from any library that won't bow to pols' demands about, say, what section of the library books with LGBTQ characters should be shelved in (kids, teen or adult).
I am so sorry to hear this. I wonder about the citizens of the cities and counties where libraries are being defunded. If they can be on the issue at every city council meeting, etc.? Do you think it’s possible to get your library back?
We still have our library, because it doesn’t depend solely on state funding to stay open. Residents care about the library and, as soon as Alabama took away its state funds, raised the lost money by crowdfunding. And when banners brought up their agenda at a council meeting, the council rightly said in effect: “We support the decisions of the library and aren’t going to overrule them.”
The libraries I worry about most are those that depend on state funding more than we do or have council members who don’t support the decisions of librarians and might turn library decisions about books into a political football. I’m sure that’s happening elsewhere.
We still have our library, because it doesn’t depend solely on state funding to stay open. Residents care about the library and, as soon as Alabama took away its state funds, raised the lost money by crowdfunding. And when banners brought up their agenda at a council meeting, the council rightly said in effect: “We support the decisions of the library and aren’t going to overrule them.”
The libraries I worry about most are those that depend on state funding more than we do or have council members who don’t support the decisions of librarians and might turn library decisions about books into a political football. I’m sure that’s happening elsewhere.
Love reading about effective pushback to the book witch hunt. Thanks for sharing the good news that I might not otherwise see.
Thanks for reading! I’ve decided to put the good news first, if there is any, so that people will be encouraged. Not ready to give up the fight.
This is great, Victoria. More bad news here in Alabama. Will send links soon, but until then you should be able to find some if you search for Huntsville Madison Public Library.
Ugh—I knew they had issues before. I guess those are continuing?
An awful law was passed in Alabama last year (the first of its kind in the nation) that allows the state to withhold state funds from any library that won't bow to pols' demands about, say, what section of the library books with LGBTQ characters should be shelved in (kids, teen or adult).
Now that Alabama has successfully defunded my library (the first in the state and nation to have that happen) because its librarians wouldn't bow to it, libraries throughout the state seem fearful that they could be next. So almost weekly there's a new report of libraries scrambling to comply. If you ever have a slow news week for your banned-book reports, you might just look up the latest library to suffer from the law. Recent news came from al.com via the Huntsville Madison PL, which is hundreds of miles away from my town: https://www.google.com/search?q=banned+books+Huntsville+Madison+Public+Library&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS908US908&oq=banned+books+Huntsville+Madison+Public+Library&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160l5j33i299.15119j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
I am so sorry to hear this. I wonder about the citizens of the cities and counties where libraries are being defunded. If they can be on the issue at every city council meeting, etc.? Do you think it’s possible to get your library back?
We still have our library, because it doesn’t depend solely on state funding to stay open. Residents care about the library and, as soon as Alabama took away its state funds, raised the lost money by crowdfunding. And when banners brought up their agenda at a council meeting, the council rightly said in effect: “We support the decisions of the library and aren’t going to overrule them.”
The libraries I worry about most are those that depend on state funding more than we do or have council members who don’t support the decisions of librarians and might turn library decisions about books into a political football. I’m sure that’s happening elsewhere.
We still have our library, because it doesn’t depend solely on state funding to stay open. Residents care about the library and, as soon as Alabama took away its state funds, raised the lost money by crowdfunding. And when banners brought up their agenda at a council meeting, the council rightly said in effect: “We support the decisions of the library and aren’t going to overrule them.”
The libraries I worry about most are those that depend on state funding more than we do or have council members who don’t support the decisions of librarians and might turn library decisions about books into a political football. I’m sure that’s happening elsewhere.