Massachusetts House passes bill protecting libraries from book bans
Some of the books at the Boston Public Library Uphams Corner branch in Boston on Jan. 19, 2018 . (Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Lawmakers in Massachusetts are hoping to put into law a bill to give librarians more authority to protect against book bans in schools and libraries.
Under the bill, school librarians will have the primary authority in the selection of books for their libraries. The measure does require materials to be age-appropriate, serve an educational purpose and must be chosen without any personal or political bias.
The legislation aims to protect libraries amid an acute wave of challenges targeting school materials across the country.
Dig deeper:
Every school would have to adopt specific criteria for handling book challenges. A committee of school personnel will be appointed to review any book that received a complaint.
The bill also states that only "clear and convincing evidence" can overrule a librarian’s book selection.
The bill also includes requirements for public libraries to adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, preventing books from being selected or removed because of personal or political biases.
RELATED: Just 3 states are responsible for 80% of known school book bans
Recent book banning
The backstory:
There has been an ongoing trend of banning books, taking them off shelves in anticipation of community, political or legal pressure. Some reasons cited for banning books include LGBTQ+ themes, depictions of race and passages with violence and items sexual in nature.
The American Library Association reported there were 4,423 unique titles challenged in the U.S. in 2025. According to PEN America, for the 2024-25 school year, Florida was the No. 1 state for book bans with 2,304 bans, followed by Texas with 1,781 and Tennessee with 1,622 bans.
According to the ALA, Massachusetts is fourth in the nation on attempts to restrict access to books, behind Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by The Associated Press and previous reporting by LiveNOW from FOX. This story was reported from Orlando.