To fight so-called book bans, some states are threatening to withhold funding
On Jan. 1 , Illinois' new law meant to slow the rapid rise of books being challenged or pulled from library shelves goes into effect. And librarians across the country are watching to see if a similar law would work in their state – particularly when it comes to threatening funding for libraries.
The Illinois law states that in order to be eligible for state grants, a library or library system must adopt the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, which says:
"Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval."
Last fiscal year, Illinois awarded more than 1,400 library grants totaling about $62 million, according to Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office will oversee the program.
"We're not telling any library or any school district or library district what books they have to have in circulation," Giannoulias says. "What this legislation does is say that we want to trust our librarians who have the expertise, the education, the experience to determine what books should continue to be in circulation."
According to the American Library Association, nearly 2,000 unique titles were challenged in libraries across the country between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31. That's a 20 percent increase over the same time last year. And most of those challenges were for books by or about queer people or people of color.
Emily Knox, an associate professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, says the Illinois law is a good first step towards protecting libraries and librarians. But worries that there might be library boards willing to forego the money. "But there is no other leverage that the state has over any libraries."
Lawmakers in a handful of other states – such as New York and Pennsylvania – have introduced similar bills requiring libraries to abide by the ALA Library Bill of Rights or risk losing certain funding.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone is the director of the ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom, and is wary of having library collection policies so closely intertwined with state money. "Because it says that whoever holds the funds dictates what we can read," she says. "And we would prefer a system that upholds the professional discretion of librarians and [isolates] it from political pressure."
In New Jersey, policy writers are still hashing it out over this very question of tying so-called anti-book ban laws to state funding. Mary Moyer Stubbs is the legislative consultant for the New Jersey Association of School Librarians, which helped draft a version of the New Jersey law without those consequences.
"Libraries all weed materials for a variety of different reasons," she says. Books get old. They get worn out. And even if a book is removed for these benign reasons, it could be seen as political. "And that would be a cause for withholding funding."
And so she and her colleagues will be watching closely to see how the law plays out in Illinois once it goes into effect.
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Transcript
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Earlier today, Democratic Representative Ayanna Pressley introduced a plan to slow the rising number of books being challenged or pulled from library shelves.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
AYANNA PRESSLEY: Let me make it plain. Book bans are discriminatory and harmful, and Congress must unite against them.
SUMMERS: But some states are ahead of Capitol Hill, like Illinois, where a new so-called anti-book ban law will go into effect January 1. And librarians across the country are paying attention. Here's NPR's Andrew Limbong.
ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: The new Illinois law goes like this. In order to be eligible for state grants, a library or a library system has to adopt the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights or draft up a similar document. And the ALA Bill of Rights specifically says that libraries should provide materials presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. And here's the important part - quote, "materials should not be prescribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval." All of this would be overseen by the Illinois state librarian, who happens to be their secretary of state, Alexi Giannoulias.
ALEXI GIANNOULIAS: We're not telling any library or any school district or library district what books they have to have in circulation. What this legislation does is say that we want to trust our librarians, who have the expertise, the education, the experience, to determine what books should continue to be in circulation.
LIMBONG: According to the ALA, nearly 2,000 unique titles were challenged in libraries across the country between January 1 and August 31 in 2023. That's a 20% increase from the same time period last year, and most of those challenges were for books written by or about queer people or people of color. Here's Giannoulias again.
GIANNOULIAS: We view it as doing the right thing by continuing to do what has always been done and not allow a few loud extremists screaming from the rooftops dictate what entire communities and their families are reading.
LIMBONG: This legislation does have some teeth. The grant funding on the line for libraries is nothing to scoff at. Giannoulias says last fiscal year, Illinois awarded more than 1,400 library grants, totaling about $62 million. Emily Knox is an associate professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and she says this law is a good first step in protecting libraries and librarians. But there might be library boards willing to forego the money.
EMILY KNOX: That's my worry, that some library boards might say, well, we don't need state funding anyway, so it doesn't matter. But there is no other leverage that the state has over any libraries.
LIMBONG: A handful of other states, such as New York and Pennsylvania, have introduced similar bills that say libraries have to abide by the ALA Bill of Rights or risk losing certain funding. Deborah Caldwell-Stone is the director of the ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom, and Stone's wary of having library collection policies be so intertwined with state money.
DEBORAH CALDWELL-STONE: Because it says that whoever holds the funds dictates what we can read, and we would prefer a system that upholds the professional discretion of librarians and insulating it from political pressure.
LIMBONG: In New Jersey, policy writers are still hashing it out over this question of tying the law to state funding. Mary Moyer Stubbs is the legislative consultant for the New Jersey Association of School Librarians, which helped draft a version of the New Jersey law without those consequences, and here's why.
MARY MOYER STUBBS: Libraries all weed materials, you know, for a variety of different reasons.
LIMBONG: Books get worn out or get old. And if a book is removed for these benign reasons, Stubbs says that risks being perceived as a political move.
MOYER STUBBS: And that would be a cause for withholding funding.
LIMBONG: Stubbs says she'll be keeping an eye on how things play out in Illinois once their law goes into effect.
Andrew Limbong, NPR news.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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