The Alabama legislature is considering two bills that could change control of local libraries and possibly expand obscenity laws which could mean more book banning. The University of Alabama Bateman Team is a group of public relations students. They just released a survey that shows opposition to both measures. Ninety percent of those in the survey believe government should not have the power to ban books. UA junior Addie Nails says the public didn’t know the process included the proposed obscenity law…
“So there's a three way test that each book has to go through. And I just don't think people realize what go what happens when librarians test a book, and the choices that they make and how that could lead to them ending up in jail,” Nails said.
Senate Bill 5 is written to govern how library boards are controlled. The so called “library board bill” was refiled by Senator Chris Elliott in the Alabama Senate Municipal and Government committee. Critics say the measure would politicize library boards by empowering local governments to remove members by a two-thirds majority vote. It would also remove staggered terms of library board members, which will disrupt any continuity. It does not include “cause” for the removal of board members. Opponents say that would further bend the board to the political will of the local government overseeing it. UA junior Addie Nails say most respondents opposed both measures, but local lawmakers may not know it…
“Yeah, so actually, 25% of participants say that they've contacted their legislators to express their views on library related issues. So getting that percentage up, you can cause more movement in this and block the bill from happening,” she said.
The UAS survey also includes ninety percent of respondents who think parents should govern what their children read and not lawmakers. The same percentage of those who answered the survey believe elected officials should not ban books, that their tax dollars are well spent on libraries, and that local libraries should reflect a wide range of viewpoints.
