What was regarded as a major victory for freedom to read advocates is once again in doubt after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on July 3 vacated a three-judge panel's June 6 opinion in Little v. Llano County, with the case now set to be reheard en banc by the full court.
The move comes after a three-judge panel in June delivered a 2-1 decision largely upholding Judge Robert Pitman's preliminary injunction ordering eight library returned to library shelves. The majority opinion, authored by Judge Jacques L. Wiener, held that the district court came to the "reasonable conclusion" that library officials, who claimed that the book removals were simply part of a weeding exercise, were in fact prompted by a handful of patron complaints. The opinion called Llano County's "alternative explanations" for the books being removed "pretextual" and affirmed Pitman's conclusion that a librarian "weeded" the books in question "because she was told to by those who disagreed with their message," which "is not a valid reason to remove a book."
That decision prompted a fiery, strangely reasoned dissent by ultra-conservative justice Stuart Kyle Duncan, who called the majority opinion a "trainwreck" and argued that libraries’ decisions are government speech and thus outside the reach of the plaintiffs' First Amendment claims.
Notably, it took the initial three-judge panel a full year to return a decision on the appeal the first time around, a delay that puzzled court-watchers given the fairly straightforward facts of the case. Under the new schedule, Llano County officials now have until August 2 to file a new brief, with the appellee's response due September 3. Oral argument is tentatively set for the week of September 23.
As we reported in Publishers Weekly, the American Library Association annual conference exceeded its goals for attendance, drawing more than 13,500 to San Diego. Now, the ALA faces two pressing tasks. The first is filling the vacancy for president-elect, after Ray Pun announced he would not be able to assume the role due to health reasons. As reported in American Libraries, under ALA bylaws the ALA council will appoint and confirm a new president-elect by the end of the month. In addition, ALA is looking to hire a new executive director. In her remarks at ALA, interim ED Leslie Burger said the association is on track to have that done by fall.
Also, congratulations to Cindy Hohl, whose term as ALA president began with her inauguration at ALA in San Diego.
In Idaho, local affiliate KHQ News reports that the state's new harmful to minors law is forcing libraries to change their policies. "Despite opposition from the Idaho Library Association, the law went into effect on July 1 and allows any parent, guardian or child to sue a library for damages if they are found to have circulated 'obscene' or 'homosexual' media," the report states. It's hard to see how this law won't soon be challenged in court.
From the Mountain West News Bureau, a new study finds that schools and libraries are seeing unprecedented attempts to pull so-called controversial books off the shelves: "Katie Spoon, a University of Colorado Boulder PhD student and co-author of the study published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nexus, categorized the more than 2,000 books restricted in schools and libraries in 2021 and 2022. 'We noticed that most of the books were children's books about diverse characters,' Spoon said."
In South Carolina, local affiliate WCSC reports that a new rule will restrict which books public libraries can make available. "The temporary law written into the state budget called a proviso, requires county libraries to certify to the State Library that their children’s section does not contain any books or materials that appeal to the prurient interest—defined in state code as 'a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion and is reflective of an arousal of lewd and lascivious desires and thoughts — of kids under 13," the report states. "If libraries fail to comply, the consequences could be severe: the loss of their state funding, which some say is crucial for them to stay operational."
Over at Book Riot, Kelly Jensen leads off her weekly censorship news roundup by noting how books about disability are frequently being banned. "July is Disability Pride Month," she writes. "Like with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it’s crucial to talk about in the context of book bans because people with disabilities are also targets of censorship and erasure."
In the New Republic, Melissa Gira Grant has a thoughtful piece on why book bans are a key piece of right's political ambitions. "The prominence of pornography in Project 2025 is no mistake, of course; it’s absolutely core to the authors’ agenda for Trump," Grant writes. "The attack on porn is inseparable from the attacks on abortion and contraception, on marriage equality and trans rights, and of course on drag queens and library books—all of which, they believe, threaten the straight, married family as the natural bedrock of society. All of these threats, to them, constitute pornography. By calling on the president to outlaw porn, they’re calling for the eradication of all these imagined enemies of the family."
Gulf News reports that the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library in the United Arab Emirates will host the first Dubai International Library Conference 2024 from November 15-17. Ibrahim Al Hashmi, a member of the library board, said the event "promotes exchanging experiences and knowledge within a global framework that that embodies rich human diversity and highlights the prospects of libraries in the future, digital transformation, the concept of transforming them into museums of the future, and the latest practices in the library and information sector."
In New York, the City reports that budget woes at the New York Public Library are forcing the library system to cut back on book purchases, including those of critically acclaimed books. "NYPL President Tony Marx said his system plans to purchase 20,000 fewer e-book copies, 6,000 fewer downloadable audiobooks, 40,000 fewer books in English and 6,000 fewer books in other languages than it did last year," the report states. "'Our patrons are experiencing the impact of a smaller collection after the $6.5 million cut we absorbed in November,' said Linda Johnson, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library."
And finally this week, KUNM in New Mexico is reporting that the state library is offering all New Mexicans free online subscriptions to the New York Times. Deputy State Librarian Kate Alderete said in a statement that connecting all New Mexicans to a national and international news source like the New York Times “is essential to the health of a democratic society.”
The Week in Libraries is a weekly opinion and news column. News, tips, submissions, questions or comments are welcome, and can be submitted via email. Previous columns can be viewed here.
