Idaho’s new law, which placed boundaries on “harmful” library materials for minors, was enacted on July 1. This House bill prohibits any picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, film, book, pamphlet, magazine, or printed matter from showing or describing these materials to minors.
Annette Pimentel, a Latah County Library Board member, said, “We feel this law is creating a negative impact on our libraries. The response to the law across libraries in the state is also causing confusion and affecting patrons, some of whom now believe they can no longer know if they can send their children to the library without an adult, if their children are still allowed to check out books or if the library has become adult only.”
The bill text describes “harmful materials” as those that contain any “that depicts nudity, sexual conduct or sadomasochistic abuse,” including LGBTQ+ representation. This means that children’s books with LGBTQ+ families could be removed or relocated.
If a library material receives a complaint, the library has 30 days to relocate it to an adult-only section or risk legal action.
The passing of this bill raised alarm among Moscow residents, leading to a demonstration in Friendship Square against the new regulations. This event allowed individuals to express their concerns about limiting freedom of choice in libraries and potential lawsuits.
Pimentel also commented on whether any Latah County Libraries have had to remove or relocate their library materials since the law was enacted.
“We have not moved any books because of the new law,” Pimentel said. “Our books already are chosen through a robust, professional collection development process, and we already had a clearly articulated process for patrons to bring concerns about books to our staff and, if needed, to our library board.”
However, this does not mean the law did not affect local libraries.
“The law has… been expensive for us,” said Pimentel. “Our staff and board have spent hours researching the law, drafting policies that do not run afoul of the new law, and preparing for the very real consequences of implementing policies in line with the language of the law. The costs will continue to add up if we get any challenges, whether successful or not, because we now need to treat every challenge as a potential lawsuit including more charges for consultations with lawyers.”
As outlined by the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, library materials “should not be excluded because of the… views of those contributing to their creation,” books “should not be removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval,” and “libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information.”
Gretchen Wissner, chairperson of Latah County Democrats, told Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Every library contains a book that will offend someone within their community.”
“We support the rights of individuals to choose what library materials to use and what not to use,” Pimentel said. “The law is fettering access to libraries and information.”
Rebekah Weaver can be reached at [email protected].