American Library Association President Emily Drabinski’s participation in a state library conference in Florence drew protestors on Friday.
A group of Northern Kentucky Moms for Liberty members stood on the sidewalk in front of the Hilton Cincinnati Airport Hilton Hotel entrance, displaying signs representing opposition to what they deemed American Library Association policies.
Drabinski, a critical pedagogy librarian at the City University of New York Graduate Center, served as the featured speaker during Friday morning’s 2023 Kentucky Library Association Conference session at the hotel.
The conference began Oct. 4 and continued through Oct. 6.
“Emily Drabinski is a self-proclaimed lesbian and Marxist and she is pushing pornography books in our schools and in our libraries,” Moms for Liberty Campbell County Chapter Chair Mirna Eads said. “We’re out here just letting the public know that it is not okay to push porn on children.”
The strategic placement of the books in certain parts of libraries that include the children’s and young adult sections is a source of concern, Eads said.
“You can go into any public library and you’ll see them, right there on the front shelf,” Eads said. “Most of them are graphic books, because our children can’t read. They are pornographic pictures. If the pictures are too graphic to post on Facebook without getting a community standard warning, then why are we letting that in front of our children.”
Drabinski said she favors professional librarians making decisions for their communities.
“We are trained, we have master’s degrees,” Drabinski said. “Many of us have been working in libraries for decades and the decisions that we make are professional ones.”
The American Library Association is a nonpartisan organization committed to library services for everyone in every community – and that is the core of its work, Drabinski said.
“It’s not about me and who I am,” Drabinski said. “ALA has 40,000 members from all across the country. We represent all different kinds of people, but what unites all of us is a commitment to American libraries.”
Moms for Liberty is examining avenues to have the American Library Association Kentucky affiliation removed, Eads said.
“Moms for Liberty does not go after public libraries because it is a free speech ordeal,” Eads said. “We just go after-school libraries and ensure that we’re trying to get as many of the pornographic books removed.”
It is important for library personnel to assemble and discuss best practices for serving communities, Drabinski said regarding the conference.
“We do good work in our communities and it’s important for us to remember that and important for the public to know that,” Drabinski said. “We’re committed public servants and the opportunity to work together to enhance services for everyone in our communities is a precious one.”