Libraries are now reporting more aggressive, targeted, and organized First Amendment audits than in years past.

Both the Indiana and Iowa State Legislatures have introduced legislation regarding criminally charging libraries and librarians over “inappropriate” material. These bills are closely related to widespread book challenges occurring at schools and public libraries across the nation, with people trying to remove books that address certain topics relating to gender, sexuality, and race from library collections. In many cases there is already a clear process for reconsidering materials in a collection, so how do legal defenses play a role in this and what do the bills change?

Funding will expand ALA’s intellectual freedom initiatives amid record number of book challenges CHICAGO (June 22, 2023) — The American Library Association (ALA) will distribute $1 million to support and expand intellectual freedom initiatives as the nation grapples with rising censorship challenges and seeks a greater array of resources to protect the right to read. ALA will use the funds to provide a major boost for its current efforts to support its members, library workers and libraries everywhere, as well as the communities they serve.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Library Association (ALA) applauds the Biden-Harris Administration’s steps announced today to address the rise in book bans and other attacks on LGBTQIA+ Americans. In a fact sheet released today, the White House announced that the Department of Education will appoint a new coordinator to address the growing threat that book bans pose for the civil rights of students, among other steps to protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ Americans.