The newly established World Library Association (WLA) aims to serve as a viable alternative to the American Library Association (ALA), which is led by self-professed “Marxist lesbian” Emily Drabinski.
The WLA, founded by “library watchdog” Dan Kleinman, will focus on providing financial aid and guidance to parents and communities combating sexually explicit content in public and school libraries. According to Kleinman, the WLA’s mission is to support public and school libraries while maintaining political neutrality and advocating for common-sense policies.
Kleinman believes the WLA can counterbalance the ALA’s influence, which he accuses of promoting inappropriate books for decades. The WLA also aims to provide new policy guidance inspired by laws or case laws like the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case Board of Education vs. Pico, which enables schools to remove educationally unsuitable and pervasively vulgar materials.
The ALA, which boasts over 50,000 members primarily comprising public librarians, has recently faced criticism for a controversial tweet by its president Emily Drabinski, who self-identified as a “Marxist lesbian.” Consequently, the Montana State Library Commission became the first state to withdraw from the ALA, prompting Republicans in states such as Mississippi and Idaho to consider doing the same.
Kleinman criticized current school policies, which he said allow unrestricted access to materials for children, equating restrictions to age discrimination. The WLA’s policy recommendations, Kleinman said, will promote “common sense, the law, and community standards.”
Shawn McBreairty, a WLA board member, criticized the ALA’s strategy of normalizing sexual materials, which he argued fosters divisiveness between parents and children. He affirmed that the WLA will support parents with an unbiased and conservative agenda, promoting traditional education and library functions.
The ALA’s position regarding explicit content has recently been highlighted by its commitment to spend $1 million to legally contest parental challenges to explicit library materials. This follows their April celebration of their work defending “pornographic” books in schools, which included releasing a list of the most challenged books as a tribute to their authors.
