Leaders of more than a dozen conservative organizations are calling on states to abandon the American Library Association (ALA) over the institution’s leftward lurch under new leadership.
On Thursday, leaders from 13 conservative groups penned a letter addressed to “Those With the Responsibility to Act” demanding policymakers sever ties with the identity politics-obsessed library association.
“The American Library Association (ALA) has become an organization that is undermining our country’s Constitutional rights and attacking its moral foundation, especially under its current leadership,” the coalition wrote “on behalf of the millions of Americans that our groups represent.”
The letter was signed by executives from the State Freedom Caucus Network, the American Principles Project, and AMAC Action, among others.
In April last year, the ALA elected a self-professed “Marxist lesbian” as the association’s new president.
“I just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect,” Emily Drabinski wrote in a social media post at the time. “I am so excited for what we will do together. Solidarity!”
The association responsible for coordinating programs at local libraries across the country has become increasingly aggressive in its far-left activism under Drabinski’s tenure. In April, The Daily Signal reported on a list of 13 books the association recommended teens and young adults pick up to radically express their “freedom to read.” The ALA declared these 13 books to be the most “challenged” in the current educational environment, blaming anti-LGBT prejudice. All the books on the list, however, feature sexually explicit material, some of which is pornographic.
An investigation from the American Accountability Foundation, whose president is a signatory to the Thursday letter, revealed links between the Marxist-led organization and leftist billionaire financier George Soros. The ALA has also promoted and defended “Drag Queen Story Hour” by offering resources to local libraries dealing with community pushback.
“The ALA’s deliberate hostility towards religious Americans and its obsession with the promotion of gender ideology to children are especially concerning,” conservative leaders wrote, “because of its de facto status as the umbrella organization that controls programming and organizational support for state, local, and religious library associations across the country.”
The coalition called on state leaders, from legislators to attorneys general, to strip the ALA of taxpayer support.
“The ALA’s ceaseless promotion of obscene materials targeted at children could run afoul of numerous state and federal laws that protect against the proliferation of harmful materials to minors,” they wrote.
In July, Missouri became the first to cut ties with the 147-year-old umbrella association. Missouri Secretary of State John Ashcroft sent the ALA a letter terminating the relationship on July 7. The Montana State Library Commission voted to follow suit four days later. Lawmakers in eight more states have now signaled they are preparing to sever the relationship between the ALA and their local library commissions.
“Congress,” the conservative leaders added, “has a responsibility through the appropriations process” to ensure the ALA receives no federal support.
The World Library Association (WLA) was launched in July as an alternative to the ALA.
“The WLA will foster safe environments for librarians, curate valuable reading materials for children, and maintain a public space that promotes information literacy and political neutrality,” read an organization press release.
The group has also pledged resources to help “stand with parents in legal battles for defending their children in school libraries,” including “financial support and active assistance.”
Read the letter from the 13 conservative leaders here:
This article has been updated since publication.
