Dozens of people gathered at the Autauga-Prattville Public Library in Alabama to demand the local library maintain its independence amid an attack on the organization’s book collection.
The approximately 100 people in attendance Tuesday also attended meetings of the Autauga County Commission and the Prattville City Council, urging officials to vote down a service contract that could have stripped the library of its autonomy and potentially its funding.
Prattville City Council members voted against the contract in a 4-3 vote Tuesday evening.
“I was just incredibly relieved to find out that the library wouldn’t be backed into a corner and forced to make the difficult decision to either compromise everything that the library is supposed to be for the community, or turn down the contract and ultimately end up with the doors closed,” said Angie Hayden of Read Freely Prattville, the group that helped organize the event.
Members also spoke at the County Commission meeting to ensure that commissioners are aware of where they stood on the issue. Funding for the library is tied to the city and county budgets, which commissioners will vote on in October. There was no vote taken at the commission meeting Tuesday.