Children’s book flagged by Alabama libraries because author’s last name is Gay

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Read Me a Story, Stella, a picture book by author Marie-Louise Gay, was mistakenly censored as “sexually explicit” and flagged for removal from the youth section of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (HCPL) because of the author’s last name. However, the library claimed that the flagging of the book, along with several others, was meant to prevent book censorship from the state. 

Key Players

Marie-Louise Gay wrote Read Me a Story, Stella, the flagged book.  

Karen Li, of Groundwood Books, published Gay’s book. 

Cindy Hewitt is executive director of the HCPL. 

Clean Up Alabama, a parental rights organization, advocates for the removal of books deemed inappropriate from the youth sections of public libraries. 

Read Freely Alabama, an advocacy group against book censorship, works to uncover and denounce library book bans. 

Further Details

Read Me a Story, Stella, which depicts two siblings reading books, was mistakenly added to a list of books to be reviewed by the HCPL because it contained the keyword “gay,” which surfaced during an automated search. 

The mistake followed an announcement from Gov. Kay Ivey (R), who, on Oct. 4 2023, mandated that the state library system modify its practices around state funding, which included measures such as categorizing books by age appropriateness. The letter did not include specific information about what topics should be restricted, but earlier letters referenced books with LGBTQ+ themes. 

“Libraries should be a place for exploring a wide variety of viewpoints and ideas,” Ivey stated. “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.”

After the mistake from HCPL, Hewitt acknowledged the library’s error. Following backlash from the community and internal library staff, she claimed that the internal review of 233 books was never meant to ban or censor books with LGBTQ+ themes or race, but to preempt any state efforts to ban books.  

“We decided, as a whole, to look at all our collection and see what was likely to be challenged, with the purpose of protecting our collection and making sure it stayed intact,” Hewitt told CNN. “[The] opposite of banning, we were trying to protect.”

Outcome

Backlash follows

The flagging of the book provoked both internal and public reactions, leading the HCPL to end the review process entirely. Some books were relocated outside the children’s section, and others were not. 

“Although it is obviously laughable that our picture book shows up on their list of censored books simply because the author’s last name is Gay, the ridiculousness of that fact should not detract from the seriousness of the situation,” Li told AL.com on Oct. 8. 

Reportedly, for its review process, the library used a list created by Clean Up Alabama as a starting point. However, Read Me A Story, Stella was not listed. The listed books covered LGBTQ+ topics, race, and other themes.

Alyx Kim-Yohn, circulation manager at the Madison branch, said the damage had been done, because the process “ostracized queer folks and people of color.”

In an internal email, Hewitt told staff that the incident “was a mistake and was hurtful to library staff and members of the community,” AL.com reported. 

Next steps unclear for the state library system  

According to Hewitt, library officials are still waiting to see how the Alabama Public Library will respond and what requirements it will create locally. 

Hewitt said she did not know how many of the listed books were moved or returned by staff during the review. In visits to HCPL libraries, Read Freely Alabama found 40 books had been moved from youth to adult sections.