When the Fremont County Library Board voted 3-2 last week to scrub its governing policies and materials of references to the American Library Association, it was the culmination of months of heated debate that touched on everything from book banning to pornography to Marxist influences.
The ALA, as it’s commonly known, is a 150-year-old membership association offering resources and professional development to librarians. Not long ago, the group was relatively non-controversial. But in recent years, it’s become embattled in America’s culture wars, launching initiatives on diversity, equity and inclusion and fending off accusations of radical wokeness from conservative activists.
Which is how it ended up in the crosshairs of Fremont County Library Board members. The ALA advocates for measures that impede parental involvement while pushing initiatives such as unisex bathroom policies that are not in line with Fremont County, board member Marta Mossburg said in September when she introduced the motion to remove the references. (None of the libraries in the system are ALA members, though many librarians are.)
“They’re not a neutral professional organization,” Mossburg said last week before the vote. The ALA decades ago “morphed into a political group that advocates for very progressive law,” she added. “I don’t want that as the backbone of our Fremont County Library.”
The proposal, which spurred hours of debate and more than 250 public comments, highlighted deep divisions in the community over censorship and what materials belong on a public library shelf. The majority of comments, around 70%, opposed the measure, according to Fremont County Library Director Anita Marple’s tally. Marple was also against it.
“This whole process for me has been really discouraging,” she told the board. The measure feels like an unnecessary cudgel, she said, adding that the library system could just decide on a case-by-case basis whether to take advantage of ALA’s resources or not.
“There should not be a controversy here,” Marple said. “We are independent. We are locally governed. ALA doesn’t dictate our policy or our programming.”
The vote represents the latest in a string of fraught decisions and board discord in Fremont County, which operates libraries in Lander, Dubois and Riverton. In the wake of the 3-2 vote, Marple will begin the formal process of amending the library system’s policies accordingly.
It’s unclear if library patrons will feel tangible impacts from the language removal. But they may wonder what exactly is the ALA and how it came to roil a community in the middle of Wyoming.
150 years old
The ALA was formed in 1876 in Philadelphia during a convention of about 100 librarians. According to the organization, the intent was to “enable librarians to do their present work more easily and at less expense.”
Early efforts included the dissemination of the Dewey Decimal System, developed by a Massachusetts librarian. And in the decades following its founding, the ALA expanded to include chapters in all 50 states and roughly 50,000 members. Today, the ALA says it’s “the oldest, largest and most influential library association in the world.”
Accrediting master’s programs, awarding grants, offering professional development and holding conferences on industry best practices are among its services.
But as the country has become more divided in recent years, libraries have become ground zero for culture wars, many centered on mounting attempts to remove books — including LGBTQ+-themed titles — from children’s sections or out of libraries all together. And critics have attacked the ALA for veering away from its original purpose and engaging in political advocacy. The organization has developed a strong advocacy arm, with initiatives to fight book bans, improve literacy and support DEI.
In a consequential 2022 tweet, then-new-ALA president Emily Drabinski tweeted she couldn’t believe a “Marxist lesbian” like herself could be elevated to the role. Conservatives latched on to that tweet, which fueled a revolt against the organization, with Republican lawmakers in states like Arizona and Montana taking steps to formally sever ties with the ALA. Drabinski is no longer with the ALA.
In 2023, Secretary of State Chuck Gray and several Wyoming Freedom Caucus lawmakers sent a letter to Gov. Mark Gordon demanding Wyoming cut affiliations with the ALA, which, they wrote, encourages libraries to “expose minors to sexually explicit materials.”
Instead of cutting ties, Gordon and state library officials wrote to the ALA requesting discussions about their concerns over the organization’s political direction.
But that did not extinguish backlash, a fact underscored in Fremont County by the board’s controversial decision last week.
Trouble starts
When Mossburg introduced the proposal, she cited an April executive order from President Donald Trump that targets accrediting agencies that adopt DEI-based standards and said the ALA has a DEI mandate that violates the U.S. Constitution. She also said ALA has policies on pronouns and bathrooms that aren’t in line with Fremont County values.
When reached for comment, the ALA did not address specific complaints, but asserted that it is “a non-partisan, non-profit membership organization that empowers and advocates libraries and library workers, ensuring equitable access to information for all.
“ALA has remained committed to this mission since its inception nearly 150 years ago, serving people of all demographic backgrounds and ideologies and becoming a valuable resource for its members and the field at large,” read a statement from Shawnda Hines, deputy director of communications for ALA’s public policy and advocacy office.
Mossburg also asserted that the ALA “advocates for complete ‘intellectual freedom’ for everyone, regardless of age,” which puts children at harm.
“This ‘intellectual freedom’ component is central to our current board manual, and has led to constant tension in the community regarding sexually graphic material in the Young Adult section,” Mossburg said during the September meeting.
The proposal spurred a flood of public comments, most of them against a policy they called unnecessary, harmful or out of touch.
“You’re not the morality police, you are a library board,” Lander resident Vikkilyn Frank told the board during one meeting.
Barbara Oakleaf, a former Lander library manager, said it appears that board members think Wyoming librarians are in lockstep with all of ALA’s stances and try to implement everything it espouses.
“We do not,” she said. “We’re Wyomingites. We have more sense of our own freedom.” During her tenure, she said, she and her staff were mainly concerned with ensuring reading access to all county residents, she said.
Marple too said she believes there is a lot of misunderstanding out there. Fremont County libraries have no DEI or gender-neutral bathroom policy, for example.
There was also support for removing connections to the ALA. One supporter, former state lawmaker Sarah Penn, urged the board in written comments to help “the effort to rid Fremont County of the ALA cancer.”
Some called for Mossburg to abstain from voting due to what they perceive as a conflict of interest based on her association with the World Library Association. The fledgling organization, which advocates for “age appropriateness in libraries,” holds itself as a counterpoint to the ALA. The website lists Mossburg as a team member.
Mossburg refuted that her association constitutes a conflict and reiterated her arguments against the ALA, which she said wants “a one-size-fits-all program dictated by them in America’s libraries.”
Board member Perry Cook was one of the people to bring up the potential conflict. She also warned the board against ignoring constituent feedback.
“I feel strongly that we need to listen to what our constituents are saying,” Cook said. “This is why we have a period of public comment. And instead of saying, ‘Oh, well, they all commented, but we know better,’ I think they all commented, and we should listen to that.”
The changes
Practically, the change resulting from the decision involves the removal of three ALA-affiliated documents from the Fremont County library system’s policies.
One, a “Freedom to Read” document, states, among other things, that “it is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.”
The second is the “Library Bill of Rights,” which emphasizes that books and materials should be provided to all people, and materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background or views of those contributing to their creation. “Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment,” it reads in one section.
The last one is the ALA Ethics Statement for Public Library Trustees, which sets out professional guidelines for board members to work with integrity by avoiding conflicts of interest and disqualifying themselves when conflicts arise, and acknowledging the formal position of the board even when they disagree.
Marple, who has been a member of the ALA for nearly 15 years, will excise the documents from library materials. That will be tantamount to removing the Fremont County Library system’s statement of principles, she said, without replacing them with anything. “We will continue to operate by these principles,” she told WyoFile.
Sarah Reilley of Fremont County Right to Read doesn’t see expect noticeable differences immediately, especially if Marple is allowed to helm the system. What is more likely to happen is a slump in morale, she said.
“The point of the ALA is to really ensure fairness and equal access to the library for everybody in the community,” Reilley said. “And when the library board said, ‘No, we don’t want to keep us in here,’ what that really said to the community is, ‘if you are a member of these marginalized communities, we no longer want this language here that protects you.’”
Long-term, however, Reilley is concerned. “I’m worried that they’re going to use this as a stepping stone to further restrict the free access to information in our library.”
Fremont County Board Chair Kristen McClelland, who voted for the ALA language removal, said last week she doesn’t think the change will make users feel unwelcome.
“I think there are people who are concerned about the material that their children see, myself included, who will feel more welcome knowing that the local population is deciding what goes on in the library,” she said.
I’m hoping that the parents who are so concerned about their children’s exposure to sexually explicit books are monitoring every site that those kids visit on the internet.
There is far more graphic material, photos, and videos available online than can be found in most books.
Censorship is wrong, plain and simple. No one forces you to read something you find offensive. And if you are doing your job as a parent, your child will not read it either. So, what you are really doing it telling others what they can read. But, it doesn’t stop there. Wyoming opposes big government telling us what we can do, but a vocal minority that had grabbed power doesn’t have any trouble telling us what we can read, who we can love, where we can pee, and what we can be.
Cults and Kool aid always seem to go hand in hand…
Your beliefs are Not reason to change our libraries for the worse just to fit your agenda! Kindly Back off!!!
Absolutely. That’s why we need to get our children’s libraries back to being safe places, like how they were before the books with adult sexual content got snuck in. The libraries never announced they were changing their procurement to include these materials. They never bothered to separate these materials from the rated G materials, nor to alert the public. But these additions were a radical shift. Time to shift it back.
Thank you. I didn’t realize Wyo would not show my responses. I have a few doubles here, if they decide to. (They were all polite.) In any case, thank you for being caring, articulate and willing to stand up for our libraries.
One funny thing is not many people are using the libraries. Which might mean a lot of people are suffering from ignorance.
I read the Lander Journal and the Wall Street Journal several times per week. I never have to wait in line. And I never see kids reading any of the periodicals.
I just have to choke on the morality police to protect our children and decisions made such as removal of the ALA from library policy. Where are the morality police as our kids can see us running down brown people in the streets, blowing up boats in international waters, and pardoning leaders of drug cartels. Are we going to remove newspapers and on-line news from the libraries that our kids read to protect them from immoral activities?
Thank you. No one, of any religious offilation, should tell people what they or their children should read. Folks who are righteous are often wrong about other healthy, loving, caring families. We don’t need them to dictate to others who are different, caring and loving.
Thank you so much for making a caring comment.
The American Library Association (ALA) has increasingly taken public stances on social and political issues, but describing it as having “morphed into a political group” is more of an opinion than a historical fact. Its core mission remains centered on libraries, intellectual freedom, and access to information, though in recent decades it has aligned itself with progressive causes such as diversity, inclusion, privacy rights, and opposition to censorship. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/politics.
Oh, you are so correct. Thank you for living here and being willing/needing to take a stand and make comment.
Chrump lemmings are closeted book burners.
The stupidity of christian nationalism knows no bounds.
Boco Haram = no books goofballs.