Several years and several states in, laws targeting library collections and library workers continue to increase. Now, thanks to a federal court, a draconian censorship law in Arkansas has the thumbs up to proceed. The law criminalizes librarians and booksellers for providing materials to their communities, resulting not only in a widespread chilling effect in Arkansas public libraries but also in the prosecution of librarians for doing their jobs.
Arkansas Act 372 amends state laws by including librarians and booksellers among those who can be criminally charged for distributing or providing materials deemed “harmful to minors.” The law allows anyone to challenge the “appropriateness” of materials, yet fails to define what constitutes “obscene” or “inappropriate.” “Anyone” here is also not limited to Arkansas residents; anyone who lives anywhere can lodge complaints about materials they believe are “harmful to minors.” Challenged materials would face a public hearing to determine whether they can remain on shelves or must be removed.
Librarians and booksellers could face up to a year in prison if they’re found to have “distributed” inappropriate material to those under the age of 18. The law, which doesn’t bother defining what constitutes inappropriate, does go to painstaking lengths in defining what is meant by “distributed.” This includes simply having the book sitting on a shelf. Book displays, book recommendations, and other means of highlighting materials would be folded into the definition of “distributed.”…