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Bob Duff
Senate Majority Leader | Norwalk, CT

Upholding Library Freedoms

Idea Category: 2025 Ideas Challenge, Democracy & Civic Engagement

2025 Ideas Challenge Entry

Senate Bill 1271 was introduced in response to the 113 recorded challenges to books in Connecticut libraries in 2023, a majority of which were books addressing issues related to race, gender identity, and sexuality. To protect against the national rise in book banning, this bill does three main things:

First, it prohibits public and school libraries from excluding or censoring books because of the origin, background or views of the material or of its authors.
Second, it requires local school boards and the governing bodies of public libraries to set up policies for book curation and the removal of library materials, including a way to address concerns over certain items. Although this bill requires libraries to have these policies and to not allow for discrimination in these policies, libraries retain discretion in crafting these policies.
Third, it provides school librarians and other school library staff members with immunity from criminal and civil liability "arising from good faith actions performed pursuant to state law."

Impact or how it will be measured:

A recent article in The Guardian called the dispute over banning books the “civil rights fight of our time.” This is because reading is a gateway to the world. Books open doors to other perspectives, different cultures, and new experiences. Books stretch the imagination, teach readers critical thinking skills, provide a lens for people to make sense of their own lives, and connect people who have never, and may never, meet. It is of the utmost importance that all perspectives, beliefs, and ideas be accessible through books.

Together, the provisions of this bill will protect the intellectual freedoms of students and the public, recognize librarians’ professionalism and experience, and promote libraries as centers for voluntary inquiry, growth, and development.