Fairhope, Alabama thefairhopetimes.blogspot.com
SENATE BILL 26
A bill sponsored by Fairhope’s District 32 Senator Chris Elliot that could eventually affect the Fairhope Library Board of Trustees has passed the state Senate and will be considered by the House Committee on County and Municipal Government on February 18 at 1:30 PM in Montgomery, according to legislative tracking services.
The bill would allow for the removal of library board members by city councils “without cause.” (See full explanation below.)
Fairhope-area House District 94 Representative Jennifer Fidler is a member of that committee, but has not publicly voiced an opinion yet, as far as we know. (Foley’s District 95 Representative Francis Holk-Jones is also a member.)
For about three years, local conservative organization members (‘Moms for Liberty’, ‘Faith, Family, and Freedom Coalition’) have been calling for the replacement of some Fairhope Library Board of Trustees members due to their reluctance to re-locate what they consider “sexually explicit” books in the teen section of the library — and have criticized the city council for recently reappointing all board members to new terms. (Last month the state library service board (APLS) sided with them about the books, by a 3-2 vote to continue withholding state funding.)
On the other side, the local chapter of the ‘Read Freely’ political organization has been firmly in support of the city’s library board. (The Fairhope city council has not officially reacted as a body to the new APLS ruling yet.)
A new documentary film concerning the same controversy on a national level called ‘The Librarians’ will be screened in the Giddens Room at the library next week, Feb. 19, 5:30 PM (click); it is also available for streaming directly from PBS.
(The House CMGC hearing should be available live too — on the ‘Alabama Channel’ on YouTube.)
