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Texas Commissioner Wants Library to Drop ALA MembershipA Montgomery County (Texas) commissioner has demanded that the county library system drop its membership in the American Library Association. “It is an organization that continually supports the liberal courses of pornography and homosexuality and offers no protection to children,” Commissioners Court Judge Alan B. Sadler said in the July 13 Conroe Courier, adding that he has “one issue, and that is the protection of children from smut and pornography.”Sadler’s proposal, which also includes changes to the library's material-selection policy, drew dozens of like-minded citizens to the commission's July 15 meeting, where people testified about their frustration with, as Ray Needham of Willis put it, “the induction of certain literature in our libraries.” Needham was referring to a two-year battle about the availability at the Montgomery County Memorial Library System of two sex-education books with gay-positive messages. The debate subsided in November, when a materials-review committee recommended the books' retention. Director Jerilynn A. Williams, who concurred, was named the 2003 winner of the PEN American Center’s First Amendment Award in April for her leadership throughout the controversy. Because Sadler's proposed policy changes were not made available for public inspection, the Courier has filed a freedom-of-information request to obtain a copy. However, Melinda Fredricks of River Plantation declared at the July 15 meeting that she had read the policy and praised it for detailing “how the library is going to be run.” The commission is scheduled to vote on the policy in late July. However, the library’s membership in ALA has become a moot point, since Sadler and Williams have discovered that it lapsed in 2000. Posted July 21, 2003 |
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