Autauga-Prattville Public Library appoints interim director amid ongoing controversy

Library Associate Tammy Bear inventories books at the Autauga-Prattville Public Library on Feb. 23, 2024. Bear was named interim director of the library on Saturday. (Ralph Chapoco/ Alabama Reflector)

The Autauga-Prattville Public Library’s Board of Trustees Saturday named a new director amid an ongoing controversy over the direction of the library.

The Board of Trustees voted to promote Library Associate Tammy Bear to be the library’s interim director in a two-minute meeting that lasted just long enough to convene, approve Bear’s appointment, and adjourn. About 30 people attended.

“We made the selection, so it was easy,” said Ray Boles, the chair of the library’s board.

Boles then bolted from the scene and proceeded behind the circulation desk where only staff are allowed to meet, and spoke only with a television reporter who attended the meeting. Boles did not respond to questions from other outlets about the meeting.

“I am an interim director, and any questions that have come about my appointment have to go to the board,” Bear said after the meeting.

Bear said she was made aware of her appointment the previous evening, but declined to discuss the board’s decision further.

Board members Thursday voted to terminate former director Andrew Foster during a special meeting . Members voted unanimously to dismiss him after convening for 20 minutes in executive session.

According to reporting from the Montgomery Advertiser , Boles said Foster was terminated for not following directions to review a list of books currently shelved in the children’s section of the library that parents expressed concerns were sexual in nature and were planning to be moved to the adult section.

That reason was different from the one that board members offered in a written statement after Thursday’s meeting. According to the statement, Foster was terminated for “revealing confidential information to the press.”

Foster said he responded to a public records request.

Written over the statement was another reason for Foster’s dismissal, indicating that he was let go for violating criminal law. Board members, however, did not provide any evidence to support that allegation.

Saturday’s event was the latest in a tumultuous battle over content and leadership at the library. Last year, a parent objected to a book in the library with inclusive pronouns other than male and female.

She took her concerns to other parents, who  organized  Clean Up Alabama. Members of the group began attending Autauga County Commission and Prattville City Council meetings and began reading passages from volumes contained with the library’s collection that they alleged contained sexually explicit materials.

Members also managed to convince county commissioners to appoint people to the board sympathetic to Clean Up Alabama’s cause after former board members resigned en masse at the end of last year.

The new board adopted new policies with the potential to restrict library materials for children and young adults. Those policies appear to violate case law in which the courts have protected the books from viewpoint discrimination based on violation of free speech.

Read Freely Alabama formed in opposition to Clean Up Alabama’s efforts. The group accuses Clean Up Alabama of a thinly-veiled attempt to get any books mentioning LGBTQ+ people out of the library. Their members staged a protest prior to Saturday’s meeting.

The events taking place have deeply divided the community while also profoundly affecting the library. Several of the staff have refused to continue working at the library until the board decides to rehire Foster.

According to the library’s Facebook page, operating hours have been curtailed to 10am-5pm Monday-Saturday, and most library programs and events have been canceled.

“We came for baby story time,” said Dallas Lebel Friday morning, who lives in Montgomery. “We looked on the website last night, and it said it apparently was on, but it has been canceled. They said they don’t know if it is going to be on next week either.”

Lebel has read articles about the controversy, most recently about Foster getting terminated.

“It is disappointing,” Lebel said. “I drove for half an hour for it. This is disappointing. It is very disappointing. Only the bad guys ban books. That is tried and true. You only have to look anytime in history to see how obvious that is.”

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