Arkansas Libraries and Book Companies Resist Campaign to Restrict Children's Reading Choices

The case asserts that the statute displaces people's entitlement to due process by enabling local elected officials to override library judgments about book challenges without offering justifications or allowing appeals from individuals who disagree.

on Jun 05, 2023

Arkansas Libraries and Book Companies Resist Campaign to Restrict Children's Reading Choices

A rising campaign in Arkansas to limit what children may read is being resisted by a consortium of public libraries and book companies.

One of four states, including Arkansas, recently enacted legislation that makes it simpler to punish librarians for sexually inappropriate books—label conservatives frequently use to attack literature that discusses gender identity and sexuality. A consortium led by the Little Rock-based Central Arkansas Library System filed a federal lawsuit on Friday in an effort to establish a precedent about the legality of such legislation.

Act 372 makes it a misdemeanor for libraries to provide kids access to publications that are "harmful to minors," according to the Central Arkansas Library System, which claimed in a petition with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas that this violates the First Amendment.

The lawsuit claims that the word, which refers to any representation of nudity or sexual activity intended to pique a prurient desire but lacking in genuine artistic, medicinal, or political significance and which would be considered improper for kids by modern community standards, is overly wide. For instance, the proposal would make it illegal for 17-year-olds to watch anything that is regarded to be too sexual for 7-year-olds.

According to Nate Coulter, executive director of the Central Arkansas Library System, which has 17 branches in seven communities, "There is a great deal of angst and anxiety on the part of librarians in the state." "Because they believe that members of the state government do not respect their honesty, in addition to the fact that they are viewed as a hostile party. They are referred to as groomers. They have been charged with pedophilia. They are essentially being targeted by a bitter, angry group of individuals who are outspoken about their belief that the library is somehow the source of our community's problems.

Although it is unknown how judges or prosecutors would approach such criminal prosecutions, transgressions of Act 372's "harmful to minors" provision might result in up to one year in jail. The case does not address the law's elimination of safeguards for teachers and librarians who disseminate information "that is claimed to be obscene" as part of their employment, a crime punishable by up to six years in jail.

The bill's Republican state senator Dan Sullivan justified the notion that a librarian may go to jail for promoting children's literature.

"Doctors are subject to abuse laws, not us. According to Sullivan, chemists are not free from drug legislation. And I'm puzzled as to why librarians would be immune from these regulations governing what is detrimental to children.

The complaint claims that Act 372 is already having an impact in Crawford County, where public libraries recently pulled books on LGBTQ characters, puberty, religion, and handicapped people out of the children's area, even though the law doesn't take effect until August 1. According to the letter acquired by NBC News, Crawford County's attorney defended the decision and referenced Act 372 when locals demanded that the books be returned.

The lawsuit seeks a federal judge to prevent prosecutors from implementing Act 372's restrictions on book challenges and "harmful to minors" materials.

It names the Crawford County government, Crawford County Judge, or CEO Chris Keith, and 28 prosecutors across the state in their official capacities as defendants. Keith declined to comment. The prosecutors either did not immediately respond to requests for comment or could not immediately be reached.