Support the Freedom to Read

We urge you to take action by contacting your elected officials and ask them to vote NO on SB2360 and HB1205.

SB2360

The North Dakota Legislature has proposed SB2360, a bill that will harm the freedom of North Dakotans including libraries and the business community. The bill has passed the Senate and will now be heard in the House.

It seeks to unnecessarily regulate and expand the definition of "obscene material" in libraries and businesses. This action will empty shelves at libraries and businesses for Constitutionally protected materials for children and adults, limit access to resources, and increase taxpayer waste. This bill unfairly targets public libraries and will lead to prosecution of librarians.

This would include books by Colleen Hoover, Danielle Steel, Nicholas Sparks, Julia Quinn…

Let's support the right of all North Dakotans to access information and resources as government overreach takes away local control and individual choice.

Don't let the national censorship agenda dictate what you are allowed to read!

 

HB1205

The North Dakota Legislature has proposed HB1205, a bill that will harm the freedom of North Dakotans. The bill has passed the House and will now be heard in the Senate.

While legislators claim that this a reasonable bill that will “protect” minors, the bill will expand the definition of "explicit sexual material" in libraries. This would result in the removal of books, movies, comic books, graphic novels, databases, ebooks, and other materials that are Constitutionally protected from the children and adult sections of libraries. This would put Titanic, Romeo and Juliet, Hallmark movies, and even the film Fargo at risk.

The bill requires libraries to engage in burdensome and redundant reporting to comply with subjective and vague criteria into determining what materials are “safe.” For our underfunded libraries, this time-consuming reporting will diminish the library’s ability to provide necessary programming, outreach, and essential community services.

Let's support the right of all North Dakotans to access information and resources as government overreach takes away local control and individual choice.

If you have any questions, please contact legislate@ndla.info.

Thank you, North Dakota Library Association Legislative Committee