Prattville Library Board to Consider Policy Changes, Delaying Lawsuit

The Autauga-Prattville Public Library Board of Trustees requested additional time Monday to respond to a lawsuit challenging its policies, saying the board plans to review the policies at two meetings this month.

The board announced on May 31 that the policy committee intended to meet at 4 p.m. on Monday, June 17 to consider policy changes, and that the full board would meet a week later , on Monday, June 24 at 4 p.m., to consider implementing the committee’s recommendations. . Both meetings will be held at the library and no public comments will be allowed.

In the court filing, Commission attorney Bryan Taylor argues that consideration of changes to the challenged policies provides a “good reason” for the court to extend the deadline to respond to the original complaint.

“Good cause exists because a continuance would promote efficiency and save defendant, a taxpayer-funded entity, the expense of filing an unnecessary response to a complaint that will certainly be amended (if not dismissed as moot) after Defendant meets to adopt the revisions to the challenged policies in a few weeks,” Taylor wrote in the continuance motion Monday.

The plaintiffs in the case do not oppose the motion, including Read Freely Alabama, the Alabama Library Association and several adult and minor library patrons.

According to the board’s motion, the policy revisions are prompted by changes to the Alabama Public Library Service Administrative Code, which now requires libraries to develop certain policies restricting “sexually explicit” content for minors in order to receive state funding.

The changes to the APLS code were made on May 16, the same day as the last APPL board meeting, during which board attorney Laura Clark informed the board of the code changes and said the library’s policies are already consistent with what APLS will now require.

A discussion between Chairman Ray Boles and Gloria Kuykendall at a committee meeting before the code changes alluded to the fact that Boles was working behind the scenes with state leaders and planning to “reign in” state policy. Prattville once the state changes its code.

During that meeting, Boles and Kuykendall both indicated they would like to focus policy on banning only sexual content, not targeting LGBTQ content.

Prattville’s policy served as a model for code changes proposed by new SPLA board member Amy Minton, although the final version that was adopted omitted language prohibiting books containing “l “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” and instead used vague language about “other materials considered inappropriate for children or young people.”