Monitoring the State of Book Banning Legislation via EveryLibrary

I am in the process of creating 2 brand new presentations to be presented in February. One is a look back at 2023 and the other, a look ahead at 2024.

In both cases, I am noting that while we are still in an environment where book banning is still too prevalent, the tide appears to be slightly turning in our favor. Now all of this can progress can be undone in the November 2024 election, but for now, the courts are beginning to stop some of the most egregious cases and more people are speaking up for us. We can see a world where the Freedom to Read ends up winning.

That being said, it is still a HUGE issue. No matter where you live, you need to be paying attention to the legislative agendas that are trying to make it not only easier for books to be banned, but 100% legally encouraged. 

I reiterate, no matter where you live. If you are reading this and work in a school or a library, you need to ate on top of the issues throughout the country. We are in this dire position because we ignored the organized efforts to ban books. We dismissed them as fringe. But they systematically attacked us and the entire concept of the Freedom to Read and we were not ready. 

Thanks to EveryLibrary, you can stay up to date on the issues with a single click. Click here to get access to their bill tracker. From that page:

EveryLibrary is monitoring state legislation during the 2024 session that would limit Americans' freedom to read and think for themselves. Of most concern are proposed laws that would allow for criminal prosecution of librarians, educators, higher ed. faculty, and museum professionals.

In 2024, we are paying the most attention to state legislative initiatives in eight categories:

1. bills that would criminalize libraries, education, and museums (and/or the employees therein) by removing long-standing defense from prosecution exemptions under obscenity laws and/or expose librarians to civil penalties;
2. bills that change obscenity and "harmful to minors" definitions that preempt established First Amendment rights;
3. bills that would establish book rating systems, leading to segregation or expulsion of materials by topic or viewpoint;
4. bills that mandate restrictive library policies, esp. prescribing collection development or materials challenge policies;
5. bills that would limit access to school library databases;
6. bills that create onerous parental control/notification requirements that lead to segregated materials or limit free speech;
7. bills that limit or outlaw the teaching of "divisive concepts";
8. bills that lead to defunding or closure of libraries

On a positive note, we are also tracking "right to read" bills that offer protections to libraries.

We do more than monitor bills. EveryLibrary is an active and engaged partner with over 75 grassroots groups, many state library associations, and other coalition partners, helping them create and field effective legislative advocacy strategies. We provide partners with free access to a suite of digital advocacy tools including our Action.EveryLibrary.Org site, FightForTheFirst.org, and SaveSchoolLibrarians.org. If you would like to talk about how EveryLibrary can assist your state library association or advocacy group, please contact our team today. 

Please keep EveryLibrary's bill tracker page bookmarked. Do not allow yourself, all of us, to get blindsided again. We have had to fight 3x as hard, but good news, it appears to be working.

And of course, don't forget, if you need or want any help fighting against censorship in your community, EveryLibrary offers help for free. Click here to see their 2023 Impact Report for more details.