In persevering with to counter the actions being taken in different states to make ebook banning simpler, New Mexico has joined states like Massachusetts in proposing new anti-book ban laws this session.
House Bill 123, the Prohibit Library Book Banning invoice, is sponsored by Representative Kathleen Cates and Senator Herald Pope. It is modeled equally to the brand new regulation in Illinois which ties state funding to library insurance policies about ebook banning. In order for public libraries in New Mexico to obtain state funding, they would wish to do the next:
- undertake and comply with the American Library Association’s (ALA) Library Bill of Rights
- undertake or create a coverage that explicitly prohibits the removing of supplies from the general public library based mostly on “partisan or doctrinal disapproval”–in different phrases, no banning on the idea of gender, race, sexuality, political, or spiritual views.
The invoice additionally would make it towards the regulation for any political division of the state to scale back a library’s funding for not partaking in ebook banning. It would nonetheless be permissible for folks to problem books at their library–that’s a First Amendment Right–however the parameters for what may be eliminated are a lot stricter.
As of writing, the invoice would apply solely to public libraries.
One of probably the most fascinating items of this laws is that it clearly defines the phrase “ban.” One of the constant arguments made by ebook banners is that they don’t seem to be banning books however are merely eradicating them (see right here and right here). The state would outline a ban exactly as it’s: the act of eradicating or prohibiting the addition of supplies in public libraries.”
New Mexico has not been one of many greatest targets of ebook bans in latest years, however the state has not been unscathed. ALA reported one try to limit entry and 6 titles challenged in that try between January and August of 2023. Additionally, Ruidoso School District, Los Alamos Public Library, Las Cruces School District, and Rio Rancho Public Libraries have all skilled ebook challenges in the previous couple of months.
If you’re a New Mexico resident, take 10 minutes to put in writing your representatives in assist of the invoice, which was filed January 16, 2024. You have a wealth of statistics at your fingertips, together with these discovered in the latest Book Riot x Every Library Institute analysis about how a lot libraries are supported by their communities.
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