ABFE Supports These Amendments to the Massachusetts Freedom to Read Bill
We are excited to share the news that several senators have filed amendments that, if passed, will significantly strengthen Massachusetts' freedom to read bill, An Act Regarding Free Expression (S.2696).
We have been working hard with the Mass Freedom to Read coalition to push for three key improvements:
- Limiting who can challenge books to those who live in the district served by a public library or have a student in the school: Amendments 1 and 5
- Including book creators in those who can challenge a book ban: Amendments 4 and 18
- Ensuring that the book must be considered as a whole, rather than a single excerpt: Amendment 6
The vote is expected tomorrow (Thursday, November 13), so if you miss your chance, keep an eye out for future opportunities to support a stronger bill.
Tennessee Secretary of State Sends Chilling Letter, Libraries Close in Response
American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) has learned that the Tennessee Secretary of State has sent a letter to an unknown number of public libraries that could chill speech and book access statewide. The letter demanded that libraries conduct a full review of their library materials to ensure compliance with not only state and federal law, but also presidential executive orders. The result has been the closure of several library branches in the Rutherford County system while they attempt to comply.
We are speaking with stakeholders in the area to understand the impact, legality, and scope of this letter. Tennessee stores, if you have more information about how this has impacted your community, write to [email protected].
AI Can’t Ban Books — Not in Texas, Not Anywhere
We are closely monitoring developments in Texas relating to the use of AI by school districts unsure how to comply with SB 13, the school censorship bill that passed the legislature this year. It follows incidents of libraries closing to conduct broad, unnecessary reviews of all library material.
Because of the vast amount of material that needs to be reviewed in order to comply with this vague and overreaching law, schools feel like they have no choice but to use AI. But AI is an imperfect tool that could inadvertently lead to more censorship, especially since it’s not clear what criteria AI is using to “review” these titles, and there are multiple instances of AI fabricating data and citing fake sources.
Decisions about the books available in a community should be the community itself, not an unpredictable and unelected algorithm. Texas and other states should take notice: the result of book ban legislation is confusion, loss of book access for young readers, and a subversion of democracy.
Texas booksellers: if you have any information on AI being used to ban books in your schools and libraries, please email [email protected] so we can help inform our organizing allies in Texas.