Unilateral censorship of library books will be prevented under a new Connecticut law, proposed by the state Senate’s Democratic majority, which sought to curb book bans that have roiled other communities.
Passed as part of the state budget, the bill requires that school and public libraries create policies related to materials like books, programs or displays and charges them with enacting a process for reviewing those materials in the event they are contested.
The bill was introduced this year by Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff and Sen. Ceci Maher, D-Wilton, which led to misinformation published against it by organizations including “Libs of Tiktok” and Newsmax. The senators reported receiving harassment and threats based on the misinformation.
Duff said the new law was meant to protect the educational communities of Connecticut libraries by trusting their trained staff to do their jobs.
“Challenges against book materials should be taken seriously and the politically charged nature of organized efforts to remove them seek to turn reading, learning and education into a culture war,” Duff said. “That’s what we’re trying to prevent through this legislation.”
The legislation will prevent the removal of material from Connecticut libraries solely on the basis that they are considered offensive or due to an author’s origin, background or viewpoints. Such policies should also recognize that library materials should represent a wide range of diverging viewpoints and establish processes to manage complaints, as well as appeal decisions made by a library authority.
Maher stressed that the new law did not seek to prevent challenges to library materials. Rather it was intended to ensure those challenges were seriously reviewed.
“The men and women who have dedicated their careers to the provision of knowledge should be able to do their jobs without distraction,” she said. “We want to make sure libraries have the power to continue providing their resources to the best of their abilities.”
The law provides librarians immunity for performing regular work duties and allows them to bring legal action for defamation or reputational damage for those duties. The Connecticut Library Consortium applauded the bill’s final passage, saying it preserved free expression and kept library shelves open to all users.
“It’s not about who’s right, but the right to be heard, the right to think, and the right to choose in the safety of our libraries,” said executive director Ellen Paul.
The American Library Association said that Connecticut saw 113 challenges to library books in 2023, part of a growing national trend, WTNH reported. Those included controversy in Newtown, where challenges to the books “Flamer” and “Blankets,” which involve gender identity and sexuality, reached the Board of Education. It was revealed “Flamer” was never checked out of the library and “Blankets” had not been checked out since 2015, WTNH said.
