{"id":247355,"date":"2025-05-19T13:24:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:24:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/alabama\/alabama-library-association-slams-apls-boards-dismissive-tone\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T13:24:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:24:47","slug":"alabama-library-association-slams-apls-boards-dismissive-tone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355","title":{"rendered":"Alabama Library Association slams APLS board&#8217;s &#8220;dismissive&#8221; tone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Alabama Library Association issued a statement Friday condemning the tone of the most recent meeting of the Alabama Public Library Service board and calling on the board to withdraw a memo defining the term \u201csexually explicit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Alabama Library Association finds it necessary to address the Alabama Public Library Service board\u2019s dismissive and discourteous treatment directed at library professionals and library supporters at the May 8, 2025, meeting,\u201d the ALLA executive council said in the statement. \u201cSeveral speakers were publicly reprimanded or spoken to in a condescending manner for raising legitimate concerns about the politicization of library governance, the need for consultation with subject-matter experts in decision-making, and the protection of federal funding vital to rural libraries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The tone started immediately at the meeting on May 8 when Craig Scott, director of the Gadsden Public Library and immediate past president of the ALLA, criticized the board\u2019s politicization.<\/p>\n<p>APLS chair Nehemiah \u201cJohn\u201d Wahl told Scott that he found his comments \u201coffensive\u201d and criticized Scott for not thanking Wahl for his efforts to secure backstop funding from the state legislature if federal funding is unavailable.<\/p>\n<p>That wasn\u2019t the only terse exchange between Wahl and librarians, as Wahl responded to several public comments, including telling Mandy Moore Broadhurst, then director of the Guntersville Public Library, that the APLS board represents the people of Alabama and not librarians.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe board\u2019s responses were often dismissive, prioritizing ideology over informed discussion, choosing to ignore the voices of nearly thirty community members who expressed opposition to the board,\u201d the ALLA statement continued.<\/p>\n<p>The statement also addresses a May 12 memo sent to librarians, including a definition for the term \u201csexually explicit\u201d that the board voted on during the May 8 meeting. That memo ordered librarians to audit their collections and move any materials with content meeting the definition out of minors\u2019 sections.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-6\" style=\"margin: 8px auto; text-align: center; display: block; clear: both;\">\n<div class=\"zox-post-ad-wrap\"><span class=\"zox-ad-label\">Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe memo doesn\u2019t explain the process the APLS board will take to codify these new definitions so they are valid and binding rules in the APLS administrative state code,\u201d the ALLA said in its statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The ALLA is calling on the board to rescind the memo and delay any vote on a proposition by board member Amy Minton to make all materials \u201cpromoting gender ideology\u201d deemed \u201cinappropriate\u201d for minors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead, we request that the APLS board properly codify these new rules by following the established legal procedure for amending the Administrative Code, as detailed in the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act, Code of Alabama, Title 41, Chapter 22, Sections 1-27,\u201d the association said.<\/p>\n<p>The ALLA also wants the APLS board to address the \u201ccurrent climate of hostility and spuriously false narratives targeting library professionals fulfilling their public service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Alabama Library Association issued a statement Friday condemning the tone of the most recent meeting of the Alabama Public Library Service board and calling on the board to withdraw a memo defining the term \u201csexually explicit.\u201d \u201cThe Alabama Library Association finds it necessary to address the Alabama Public Library Service board\u2019s dismissive and discourteous [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":247356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11763],"tags":[12750,90511,62076,26202,16646,4226,18166,90512,5129,62200,58454,394],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-247355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alabama","tag-alabama","tag-alabama-library-association","tag-alabama-public-library-service","tag-apls","tag-association","tag-boards","tag-book-bans","tag-dismissive","tag-library","tag-library-challenges","tag-slams","tag-tone"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Alabama Library Association slams APLS board&#039;s &quot;dismissive&quot; tone - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alabama Library Association slams APLS board&#039;s &quot;dismissive&quot; tone - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Alabama Library Association issued a statement Friday condemning the tone of the most recent meeting of the Alabama Public Library Service board and calling on the board to withdraw a memo defining the term \u201csexually explicit.\u201d \u201cThe Alabama Library Association finds it necessary to address the Alabama Public Library Service board\u2019s dismissive and discourteous [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-19T13:24:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/alabama-library-association-e1720788377638.webp.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1306\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"735\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Alabama Library Association slams APLS board&#8217;s &#8220;dismissive&#8221; tone\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-19T13:24:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355\"},\"wordCount\":457,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/alabama-library-association-e1720788377638.webp.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Alabama\",\"Alabama Library Association\",\"Alabama Public Library Service\",\"APLS\",\"Association\",\"Boards\",\"Book bans\",\"dismissive\",\"Library\",\"library challenges\",\"Slams\",\"TONE\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Alabama\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355\",\"name\":\"Alabama Library Association slams APLS board's \\\"dismissive\\\" tone - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/alabama-library-association-e1720788377638.webp.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-19T13:24:47+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/alabama-library-association-e1720788377638.webp.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/alabama-library-association-e1720788377638.webp.webp\",\"width\":1306,\"height\":735},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Alabama Library Association slams APLS board&#8217;s &#8220;dismissive&#8221; tone\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alabama Library Association slams APLS board's \"dismissive\" tone - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alabama Library Association slams APLS board's \"dismissive\" tone - Som2ny Network","og_description":"The Alabama Library Association issued a statement Friday condemning the tone of the most recent meeting of the Alabama Public Library Service board and calling on the board to withdraw a memo defining the term \u201csexually explicit.\u201d \u201cThe Alabama Library Association finds it necessary to address the Alabama Public Library Service board\u2019s dismissive and discourteous [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2025-05-19T13:24:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1306,"height":735,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/alabama-library-association-e1720788377638.webp.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"Alabama Library Association slams APLS board&#8217;s &#8220;dismissive&#8221; tone","datePublished":"2025-05-19T13:24:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355"},"wordCount":457,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/alabama-library-association-e1720788377638.webp.webp","keywords":["Alabama","Alabama Library Association","Alabama Public Library Service","APLS","Association","Boards","Book bans","dismissive","Library","library challenges","Slams","TONE"],"articleSection":["Alabama"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355","name":"Alabama Library Association slams APLS board's \"dismissive\" tone - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/alabama-library-association-e1720788377638.webp.webp","datePublished":"2025-05-19T13:24:47+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/alabama-library-association-e1720788377638.webp.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/alabama-library-association-e1720788377638.webp.webp","width":1306,"height":735},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=247355#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Alabama Library Association slams APLS board&#8217;s &#8220;dismissive&#8221; tone"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=247355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/247356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=247355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=247355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=247355"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=247355"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=247355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}