February 13, 2026
Memorandum in Support of S 8630 from the American Booksellers Association
On behalf of the American Booksellers Association, the not-for-profit trade association of independent bookstores, including 293 small businesses across the state, I urge you to support the New York Freedom to Read Act (S. 8630). An essential and urgent piece of legislation, it offers common-sense guardrails that protect the freedom to read in New York, and in doing so, safeguards the future of bookselling and reading in our state.
Nothing about this legislation should be partisan or controversial. It prohibits book bans based on partisan disagreement, offers guidelines for a responsible parental complaint procedure, and creates a process for the creation of model policies to help lessen the burden on school administrators, librarians, and school boards. Last year, the Senate and Assembly easily passed the “Freedom to Read Act,” but Governor Hochul vetoed it because it needed refinement. The new bill text provides that refinement, offering steps that empower local systems with resources without being overly prescriptive or limiting local control.
The need for this bill is clearer than ever, as too many school systems bogged down in culture wars and voucher fights have seen student access to books become collateral damage. Kids need books. Which books they have access to is a decision for parents to make with their own children, but too often, one parent will make that decision for everyone by launching a pressure campaign to remove certain books entirely. In some cases, school libraries have been forced to shut down indefinitely because of toxic anti-book campaigns. This bill gets out ahead of the censorship cycle by protecting book access, local control, and parental rights at the same time.
For booksellers, be they business owners or the frontline booksellers they employ, safeguarding the next generation of engaged readers is essential to secure the future of the industry. Nationwide, young book lovers have been on the decline. That is a problem for everyone: it means a less engaged public, less tolerance of difference in identity and perspective, and worse education and employment outcomes. Passing this bill will help ensure those students have access to books that are age-appropriate while also being modern, relevant to their lives, and meeting them where they are in their path to adulthood.
New York, with its world-class educational institutions and the richest literary history in the world, should be a bastion of literacy and free expression. Those are New York values, and they need to be protected. Vote yes on S 8630.
Sincerely,
Philomena Polefrone, PhD
Associate Director of Advocacy and Public Policy
American Booksellers Association