The American Library Association has been under increased scrutiny over the past year as book challenges to schools and public libraries soared
Multiple conservative-led states, including Montana, Missouri and Texas, are severing ties with the 150-year-old American Library Association (ALA) over concerns it promotes sexually explicit material to children.
Conservative legislators in nine additional states, including Alabama, are also urging disaffiliation with the ALA, jeopardizing public library funding.
The organization provides funding of around $12 million each year, training, and other tools to 123,000 libraries in the U.S.
In last week’s Judiciary Committee hearing, ALA director Deborah Caldwell-Stone was criticized by Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee for attempting to sexualize children and withhold content from parents.
Caldwell-Stone said she was training libraries on how to respond to parents complaining that children’s picture books are pornographic “simply for featuring families headed by same-sex couples.”
The ALA has been under increased scrutiny over the past year as book challenges to schools and public libraries soared. It reports that in 2022, there were 1,269 attempts to remove library books, mostly about LGBTQ people.