Alabama's Cultural Conflict Over Teen Book Shelving Puts Fairhope Library in the Crosshairs

"Fairhope's funding will stay on hold unless all books with references to themes like masturbation are moved out of the adolescent area," says Amy Minton, a prominent member of the Alabama Public Library Services (APLS) board and an ardent critic of sexually explicit material in children's literature.

At the core of the present impasse? Hannah Witton's sex education book, Doing It. According to Minton, this book, which has sections on ejaculation, masturbation, and painless sex, just is not appropriate for shelves that kids between the ages of 13 and 17 can reach. She makes it clear that censorship is not the problem: "No books are being banned," she told AL.com. However, the policy makes it plain that in order for a book to be eligible for state financing, it must be relocated to the adult area if it discusses any of these subjects or even uses these terms.

The library board at Fairhope, however, does not think so.Both member Andy Parvin and board chair Randal Wright gave Doing It a thorough examination. They contend that the book's content is not obscene by legal standards and does not meet the threshold for being sexually stimulating or inappropriate, even if they acknowledge that it contains open discussions about subjects like sexting, STDs, and pornography.

Parvin said that the book had only been checked out once since 2018—until the present controversy—and that teens were "quite aware of these issues." It is not itchy. It is educational. Actually, it gives me the kind of background I wish I had as a teenager.

Wright agreed, saying, "It is straightforward and educational." "It provides answers to the issues that teenagers are already asking about growing up, sex, and their bodies."

The library has a rigorous evaluation process. A comprehensive two-person review was conducted for each of the 15 works that the APLS board disputed. Federal legal criteria of obscenity and the possibility that any content was sexually stimulating—standards established by U.S. law—were used to make decisions. The board also took into account local "community norms," which are a more ambiguous but important factor in Alabama's close-knit, frequently conservative communities.

Ultimately, nine novels, including Doing It, stayed in the teen section, five were moved to the adult section, and one was not put to a vote. These books cannot be challenged again until 2030 because the board's decision is valid for five years.

Fairhope would lose out on around $42,000 in yearly state funds as a result of the ALPS board's freeze, but the town has come together. In less than two weeks, a grassroots campaign raised almost $46,000. The city itself provides the majority of the library's funding, about $1 million annually, and has reaffirmed its commitment.

Library board members are concerned about the potential loss of access to the Baldwin County courier system, not the state funds per se. The Fairhope Library fears that if funding is not restored, they may lose the ability to share and receive roughly 1,000 books per week with other libraries in the area.

"This pressure does not seem to be coming from the residents of Fairhope or even Alabama," Wright remarked. "It is a little, highly vocal group with a significant impact."

The Fairhope Library is currently embroiled in a conflict about what teenagers should be permitted to read that involves state law, local government, and a larger cultural struggle. Even while no books are being overtly prohibited, the question still remains: who gets to judge what is suitable, and for whom?