The Arkansas State Library Board reopened public feedback on proposed rules that would link public library funding to how libraries handle materials depicting or describing sexual contact and behavior.
Board members voted Friday to discard an earlier approval of the proposal, revise the draft and make it available for a third round of public comment. The feedback period will run through Dec. 13 on the Arkansas Department of Education website.
Board changes draft after vote
At the beginning of the board’s quarterly meeting Friday, members approved a version of the rules that had been proposed in August. The draft called for libraries to take reasonable steps to place covered materials appropriately and to prevent patrons younger than 16 from checking them out.
The board later voted 3-2 to expunge that action. Members also agreed to add language saying libraries would not be required to keep encyclopedias and fine art away from patrons younger than 16. The revised proposal was then reopened for public comment.
“This policy sends a fundamental message to children and teens that it does not trust them to be curious or interested in reading freely, and could discourage them from reading at all,” Madison Markham, Freedom to Read program coordinator for PEN America, said.
Jack Fortner, a former state lawmaker from Yellville and a member of the library board, opposed withdrawing the earlier vote and changing the proposed rules. Fortner said the revised language would be too vague to enforce and described the coming public comment period as likely to draw significant interest.
Library officials and parents who spoke Friday raised concerns that the restrictions could reach educational materials. Allie Gosselink, executive director of the Calhoun County Library, said her library system does not have enough space to separate books that some adults might consider inappropriate for children.
- The revised draft covers materials that depict or describe sexual contact and behavior.
- The proposal would address the placement of those materials and checkout access for patrons younger than 16.
- Public comments on the new version are due by Dec. 13 through the Arkansas Department of Education website.
Rules follow 2023 law
The proposed restrictions are part of the state’s response to a 2023 law that provides criminal penalties for providing materials considered harmful to minors. Librarians have questioned how the law should be applied in public libraries. A federal appeals court lifted an injunction blocking the law in July.
Earlier versions of the library rules drew opposition from dozens of Arkansans who said limiting minors’ access to books would interfere with reading and educational access. PEN America, a national organization that advocates for freedom to read, also criticized the revised proposal after Friday’s meeting.
