Gov. Kay Ivey wants Alabama Public Library Service to tie funding to book policies | #childsafety | #kids | #chldern | #parents | #schoolsafey | #hacking | #aihp

Gov. Kay Ivey asked the Alabama Public Library Service to make funding for local libraries contingent upon conforming to policy changes Ivey said will protect children in libraries.

“Libraries should be a place for exploring a wide variety of viewpoints and ideas,” Ivey wrote in the letter Wednesday. “At the same time, however, libraries must not be a place to expose children to inappropriate content without the knowledge and consent of their parents.”

The letter comes amid right-wing attacks on the content in libraries in Alabama and around the nation, often on books acknowledging LGBTQ+ people or containing LGBTQ+ themes.

Book challenges are at a 20-year-high, according to the American Library Association.

Ivey’s letter did not specify what content she considered inappropriate. In an email Wednesday, Ivey spokesperson Gina Maiola pointed to an earlier letter from Ivey, which included books with LGBTQ+ content.