Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Freedom to Read Act at the Princeton library on Dec. 9. Among other things, the measure protects librarians and school library media specialists, teaching staff and any staffers at public libraries by making them immune from criminal and civil liability.
ANDREW HARRISON
The Sun
New Jersey is now the latest state to deter book bans at public libraries and schools.
With Gov. Phil Murphy’s signing of the Freedom to Read Act inside the Princeton library on Dec. 9, the state now requires that local school boards and public library governing boards adopt policies on the curation of library material, create procedures for removal of any holdings and include diverse and inclusive content.
The act will also protect librarians, school library media specialists, teaching staff and employees of public libraries by making them immune from criminal and civil liability for performing the activities required by the state’s new law.
“The Freedom to Read Act will ensure generations of New Jersey’s children can continue to discover the wonders that await them in the books all around us,” Murphy said. “This law will also protect the rights of young New Jerseyans to access developmentally appropriate books, including diverse and inclusive materials that will help them learn and grow, and will ensure those materials remain accessible in our schools and public libraries.”
While the measure will not take effect for a year, the state commissioner of education and the state librarian can take “anticipatory” – or advance – action to implement it.
“… I want to be clear this law will strengthen, not diminish the rights of parents to choose what reading materials their children should or should not have access to,” the governor explained, “by ensuring that every family can make their own determination on what books are appropriate for a child.
“That is why this legislation mandates that books cannot be removed from our libraries solely based on the origin, background or views contained in the text or because (an) individual finds it offensive.”
Regarding school libraries and individuals who may request the removal of material, policies adopted by local boards of education must include at minimum a Request for Removal form that would go to a school’s principal and require a committee review within 10 days of its receipt. Also:
- A review committee must report its recommendations to the board in 30 school days after receiving the form and require the school board to review the committee’s report and make a final determination on whether the library material will be removed.
- The local school board will have to provide a written statement of reasons for the removal or non-removal of material and for any final determination made by the board that differs from the committee’s recommendations.
- The state librarian will establish a model policy for public libraries to use for Requests for Removal.
- The commissioner of education will assist local school boards regarding policy on the curation of library material by creating a model measure. The state librarian will do the same for libraries.
State Sen. Andrew Zwicker, a primary sponsor of the Freedom to Read Act, explained that in the 2023-’24 academic year, PEN America – a national nonprofit that tracks book bans and fights censorship in public schools and libraries – tracked more than 10,000 book bans in public schools around the country.
“The stories silenced are disproportionally those of marginalized communities,” he noted. “(Some) 44% of banned books center on characters of color or themes of race or racism and 39% explore LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
“That is not a coincidence.”
Zwicker also emphasized that parents have always and will always have the freedom to decide what their children read.
“This law is not about imposing one viewpoint over another,” he pointed out. “It is about preserving the right of every individual to access knowledge, explore diverse perspectives, and to decide for themselves what is meaningful and valuable.”
New Jersey joins Minnesota and Illinois in enacting book ban measures. Martha Hickson, a retired school librarian, recalled Sept. 28, 2021, wen she became the target of book banners over books with LGBTQ+ themes.
“On that night, a handful of parents called me by name a pedophile, pornographer and groomer of children at a school board meeting that has since been viewed on YouTube more than 6,000 times,” she recalled. ” … I am not the only victim of these politically motivated attacks. The students I serve feel the pain, too. When books that describe their lived experience were called disgusting, obscene and depraved, students recognized that those insults were also intended for them.
“Thanks to those (state) legislators,” Hickson added, “and the advocacy of countless community members and organizations, New Jersey citizens now have protections to read about the topics that interest them in their own libraries. When concerns about books arise, parents now have a clear process for raising issues without resorting to bullying.
” … For librarians across the state, the dignity of our work will now be recognized and preserved, and all of that is truly a cause for celebration.”
