Autauga-Prattville Public Library board fires executive director

PRATTVILLE, Ala. (WSFA) - Members of the Autauga-Prattville Public Library board unanimously voted to fire Executive Director Andrew Foster during a special called meeting on Thursday at Prattville City Hall.

A board member stated during the meeting that Foster was being terminated for “revealing confidential information.”

Foster said he gave a copy of emails between him, the board and the library’s attorney that discussed the book removal policy to a media outlet through an open records request.

“I was never directly told that that information was not to go out, and so I shared the information because that was included in the range of the request,” Foster said.

In the email exchange, the attorney explains books can be removed at the request of a patron or through a process called “weeding,” meaning the book is removed due to outdated or irrelevant information.

The board’s policy comes on the heels of a yearlong controversy over claims of books containing “sexually explicit material” in the children’s section of the library.

In protest to Foster’s termination, the staff at the main branch of the Autauga-Prattville Public Library closed its doors for the remainder of the day Thursday, saying that they will reopen once the board reinstates Foster.

“He has fought so hard for libraries to be libraries, for people to have access to information, and for parents to parent their own children,” said Adrienne Barringer, a library employee.

Foster did not say if he plans to seek legal action following his termination.

The library board refused to provide a statement following the meeting.

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