Legal Challenges to Libraries

In recent years, libraries in the US have seen a significant uptick in legal threats, book challenges, and censorship. These challenges not only attack libraries as institutions, but threaten the First Amendment rights, privacy rights, and access to information of both library workers and library patrons. The American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom (ALA OIF) created the Law for Librarians: Censorship, Privacy, and Intellectual Freedom (L4L) initiative in response to these growing legal concerns. With a three-year grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), L4L seeks to increase library workers' understanding of laws and regulations related to intellectual freedom, access to information, privacy, censorship, and free speech. Using a Train-the-Trainer model, L4L equips library workers to train additional colleagues in their home states. The program has already prepared library workers in almost every state to face legal threats with accurate information, research skills, and confidence.

As L4L's evaluator, we've seen how necessary this program is and how quickly it's made a difference for library workers across the country. Through interviews with library workers who have both completed the training program and conducted their own trainings, we've learned a great deal about the types of support that help libraries preserve the right to read. This blog post explores L4L's successes and challenges, and offers practical suggestions and resources for learning about the intersection of law and libraries.

Understanding and Tracking Legal Challenges

Library workers who completed the Train-the-Trainer workshops gained knowledge and confidence to parse and track legal challenges in their own states and across the US. L4L allowed library workers to get up to speed on "what's currently happening in specific communities," understand "current legal case descriptions," and parse "how legal complaints are structured." This information meant participants could look at issues from around the US to understand "how a particular case is impacting us nationally" while also tracking national cases to see "what would be a canary in the coal mine for [this state]."

Crucial for L4L participants were lessons on the research tools they could use to continue learning about legal challenges. This meant "know[ing] what to ask for," "know[ing] what databases to look at," and compiling local resources to turn to. One library worker located near a university's law library learned they "can email [them] and be like 'Hey can you pull this for me,' and [they] will, because I knew what to ask for." Before, they said, "I don't think I knew what to ask for." As another library worker explained,"I'm on firm ground — and that I know how to find more information if I need it."

L4L also created a community of practice, which helped library workers feel supported and confident in their work to combat legal threats. Being able to check what was happening in other locations helped them confirm "this is how librarians around the country are talking about this right now," assuring them they had "been doing the right thing all along." Having a network of L4L library workers and the ability to share information meant "knowing that we're not the only ones going through it."

Putting Knowledge into Practice

L4L participants who completed Train-the-Trainer workshops went on to host subsequent trainings in their home states. Both trainers and trainees were able to put lessons from L4L into practice immediately.

Library workers were "proactive in meeting with their administrators," using L4L as a springboard to "update these [challenge] policies." In an OIF-developed survey, over 800 library workers said they were reviewing their library policies. Library workers also talked about conversations with school boards and administrators, who were more open to hearing library worker concerns backed up by rigorous research and grounded in robust legal knowledge. After one training, an L4L participant was able to work with a library facing a book challenge from a county commissioner. The trainer was "able to really coach the library director on how to respond and how to handle the situation." This library worker "helped them with forming their reconsideration committee… coached them also through loud board meetings." The challenge was struck down.

Training in legal challenges also reframed library workers' communication with patrons and community members. "It's actually the parents and the community members that enforce the law, right?" suggested one library worker. They noted that "unless you have those community members requiring accountability… there's no follow through." Library workers started speaking with community members about "the legality of what we do" and spoke about getting legal knowledge to groups outside the library, like Rotary Clubs and the League of Women Voters.

One of the most important impacts of L4L training was in reducing the anxiety and discomfort of library workers, who are often "second-guessing" themselves. "Taking those high-stakes conversations down a notch," said one participant, helped trainees move away from thinking about "the penalty for doing it wrong." Instead, they had deeper discussions about "how much risk they are willing to take." As one participant explained, L4L gave library workers the confidence to think "'Hey, I've done the work, I know I'm in line with what I should be doing.'"

Navigating Difficulties

Many L4L participants talked about difficulties in their ongoing efforts to combat censorship. Chief among these was self-censorship occurring in libraries, or what one library worker called "silent censorship." The fact that library workers are sometimes "nervous to purchase things" — and that some quietly "choose to withdraw materials," or "choose not to buy materials" — remains a big barrier to pushing against censorship. Some library workers comply with challenges "hoping that no one causes a fuss." In addition to their desire to avoid controversy, in some cases, library workers are "in agreement with the people that are censoring materials."

As this suggests, there are many layers related to the phenomena of self-censorship in the library. Whenever it occurs, the fact that "there's no public process" in cases of self-censorship makes this extremely difficult to deal with. Another complicating factor is that self-censorship often involves paraprofessional or volunteer library workers who lack associational support. "It has tied us in this pretty bow of not being able to do anything," said one library worker, noting that they "don't want somebody else to get fired because of something I did."

When talking about ongoing challenges, library workers also mentioned the difficulty of reaching new audiences, correcting legal misinformation, and continuing to stay informed in a constantly shifting legal landscape. There's still a lot of work to be done!

Let's Put it to Work

You can put the lessons and resources of L4L to work for you and your library right now.

Stay Up to Date

First, pay attention to national news about legal challenges to libraries, learn about ongoing cases, and get to know what's going on in your local area. The United Against Book Bans website provides updated information about the landscape of legal challenges across the US. You can follow legislation using the ALA's Adverse Legislation Tracker, and pay special attention to your local and regional contexts.

Review Your Library Practices

If you work in a library, the ALA has put together the Privacy Field Guide, with practical exercises to make libraries more privacy-focused. They've also established useful guidelines for Library Policies that include concrete ways you can manage legal challenges in your library. And you can always reach out to ALA OIF to learn more about the L4L initiative.

Tackle Censorship Head-On

You can stay on top of ongoing censorship cases with this Censorship Cases Tracker, recommended by L4L. If you see or experience censorship in your library, report it! And if your library is in need of legal assistance, contact the Freedom to Read Foundation.

Connect with Trainers in Your State

At present, there are 166 trainers in the L4L program, representing 48 states. Trainers offer workshops tailored to the needs of individual communities. If you're a library worker and would like to connect with trainers in your state, filling out this form on the L4L website will help you get the support you need.

About this Article

This blog post is part of a partnership with the American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom's Law for Librarians program, funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Cover photo courtesy of Aaron Burden @ Unsplash