Some conservative state senators want Georgia to become the latest state to pull out of the American Library Association, a nonprofit organization that supports libraries and accredits the schools that train them.
On Wednesday, the Senate Government Oversight Committee heard testimony from Georgia’s top librarian, who said the Georgia Public Library Service is already not affiliated with with the American Library Association. A dean at the state’s only university offering a graduate library studies program told the panel cutting ties with the only accrediting body for degree programs in library and information science could cost millions in tuition.
Under Senate Bill 390, state and local entities would be banned from spending any money on the association, and directors of public library systems would no longer be required to hold a master’s degree from a school with a library program accredited by the association.
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