The culture wars over libraries and the debates over appropriate content on the bookshelves came to the Mobile City Council for the first time on Tuesday and were met with a rebuttal from one council member who questioned where the Bible should be among those banned.
Councilman William Carroll, after listening to concerns from a representative of the conservative Eagle Forum about some of the books on the shelves at public libraries in Mobile, said critics “need to be careful about what you’re asking for,” and then referred to content within the Bible that might warrant censorship.
“In the Bible, you can find prostitution, adultery, fornication, wars,” said Carroll. “Men with lower extremities removed. When we talk about information in books, let’s be careful about what you’re asking for. It sounds like some us would want the Bible taken out of the library. That would be extremely suggestive, but it could happen if we start (censoring and/or banning books).”
Book queries
Carroll’s comments were in response to a suggestion by Melissa Gates of the Eagle Forum, who questioned the council’s role in restricting the titles displayed at Mobile’s libraries.
Council members do not have authority to pull book titles from libraries, but they are charged with appointing library board members. The council is also set to approve its fiscal year 2025 budget next week, which contains an $8.2 million appropriation to the city’s library system.
“I know you have no control over choosing the books,” Gates said. “But the buck stops with you all because you are funding (the libraries). Those library books are funded by our taxpayer money.”
She was joined in her concerns with Toni Keener, who submitted a list of books that she found within Mobile’s libraries that she believes contains objectionable content for children and the public.
Keener also said a magazine displayed within the libraries is filled with “political, racial and social divisions on every page.”
“The City Council approves the funding, and you write a check with no oversight,” she said. “I assume there is no auditing. These books are still hitting the libraries.”
Censorships
Carroll, though, said he was concerned about the approach in Mobile — a majority Black city with a strong LGBTQ presence and a city that, until recently, had two LGBTQ liaisons.
“(The effort to censor or ban book) takes us back to a time when we are burning books and burning information and what did we call that period of time?” Carroll said.
Book banning and censorship has long occurred in the world, notably in the 17th century when community leaders banned books challenging Puritan beliefs. Many historians point to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin as the first book in the U.S. to experience a national ban after the Confederacy barred the book from stores for its pro-abolitionist agenda and because it raised debates about slavery.
“It makes me think we are at a point in time in life and the world in how we are living that we have gotten so subjective on what we think we want people to see, learn and understand,” Carroll said. “It’s gotten to the point where so many people are so far to the right and left in how we are thinking as opposed to what we’re truly out to do.”
Carroll then pointed to his cell phone, adding, “Information is information. You can pick up a cell phone, hit the Internet and get more information than we would ever get out of a library. I get sometimes confused by this. We are in an information age. The information you are talking about … can easily be gotten from a simple tap on the Internet on the phone.”
Bible bans
People gather during a rally Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at the Utah State Capitol, in Salt Lake City. Bible-toting parents and Republican lawmakers convened on Utah’s Capitol to protest a suburban school district that announced it had removed the Bible from some schools last week. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)AP
The arrival of the culture war over libraries to Mobile comes as there continues to be a conservative pushback against LGBTQ titles and those that focus on themes of race and racism within libraries.
According to PEN America, a nonprofit that examines free expression and the advancement of literature, 37% of banned books in other states had characters of colors or themes of race and racism, while 36% had LGBTQ+ themes.
But few debates in Alabama have involved the Bible, even though the book has been an unlikely subject caught up in the crosshairs of the library battles in other states.
The Bible’s scrutiny has been at the forefront of the recent disputes in Florida, including in nearby Escambia County where the school system reconsidered removing The Bible from its school shelves. Over 1,600 of book bans took place in Escambia County Public Schools, the Pensacola-based district with the most bans nationwide, according to PEN America.
According to a complaint form, the Bible was challenged because it “promotes sexism, sex, violence, genocide, slavery, rape, and bestiality. Includes examples of eating children. Causes Religious Trauma Syndrome.”
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law more than two years ago that allowed parents to object to educational materials. The new law prompted South Florida activist Chaz Stevens to begin circulating petitions to public school superintendents across the state asking for the immediately removal of the Bible from the classroom, library and any instructional material.
The efforts by Stevens paid off. He was cited by DeSantis as one of the culprits for a tweak in the 2022 law that was approved earlier this year in which people complaining about books within a school district but who do not have students attending that district were limited one challenge per month.
Other states have taken up Bible challenges:
What’s next?
Mobile City Councilman Ben Reynolds speaks during the Mobile City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at Government Plaza in Mobile, Ala. Seated next to him is Mobile City Councilman Cory Penn. (John Sharp/[email protected]).
A controversy about the Bible aside, the issue of restricting library content in Mobile is a new issue brought to the council and it was unclear to some members what was being asked of them.
Councilman Ben Reynolds said the list he was given on Tuesday included some of the book titles that have been pushed back against in cities across Alabama, but he was unsure what Gates was asking elected officials to do with it.
“I have more questions than answers,” he said after the council meeting. “What are you asking for? I don’t care for the grandstanding that goes with the issue. We are policy makers. What policy are you asking us to implement?”
Reynolds said he is not interested in defunding the library system, and he said he his family are frequent attendees of the Mobile Public Library System. He also noted that it would take a supermajority of five of seven council members to remove funding from the library system, something that seems unlikely ahead of an expected vote on the fiscal year 2025 budget next week. The annual spending plan includes $8.2 million for the library system.
Reynolds said the solutions to the concerns seem reasonably simple to address, which could include relocating certain book titles to other places within the library.
The Mobile Library System, in a lengthy statement after the meeting, said the group follows an “established and transparent process for reviewing any material challenges.”
The process also allows for “thoughtful evaluation while respecting the diverse perspectives and values of our community.” The library also encouraged the public to engage with the library system “through appropriate channels, including attending Library Board meetings and submitting formal requests and reconsideration materials.”
“We are aware of the concerns raised at the recent Mobile City Council meeting regarding certain books in our collection,” the statement reads. “The library acknowledges the right of all community members to express their views on library materials, and we take these concerns seriously. As a public institution, we uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and ensure that all materials in our collection meet established selection criteria, including literary merit, educational value, and alignment with community interests.”
The statement also says, “Our commitment remains to serve the community with fairness, inclusivity, and respect for all viewpoints. The Mobile Public Library will continue to provide a broad range of books and resources, allowing individuals and families to make informed decisions that align with their personal values.”
Audience members attend an Ozark – Dale County Library board meeting Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 in Ozark, Ala. (Alabama Reflector Photo by Stew Milne)Alabama Reflector Photo by Stew Milne
In Alabama, the controversy over libraries have mostly played out before packed council and library board meetings in smaller and more conservative cities and counties where critics have been able to push out library directors and library board members.
The controversies have also resonated with Republican leaders in the state, including Gov. Kay Ivey, who warned earlier this year that funding could be rolled back from libraries whose bookshelves might be contain inappropriate material that draws the critics. State lawmakers continue to roll out legislation that increases regulations on libraries and librarians.
Few of the battles have occurred in the larger, and more diverse cities in Alabama like Birmingham and Montgomery. But when they have occurred, embarrassment has ensued.
The most notable incident occurred when the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, while using Clean Up Alabama’s list as a basis for a mandatory review to get ahead of potential book challenges, had its branch managers include keywords like “lesbian” and “gay” to search for questionable titles. The effort came up with 233 potentially inappropriate books.
“Read Me a Story, Stella,” a children’s book by Canadian author Marie-Louise Gay, found its way onto that list because of the author’s last name, and that sparked national headlines and jokes on late-night talk shows. Months later, LeVar Burton, the longtime Reading Rainbow host, mentioned the snafu in “Banned Book Rainbow,” a parody sketch on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
