Kawasaki bill would shield librarians from prosecution if they have obscene books available for children

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Senate Democrat Scott Kawasaki of Fairbanks has introduced legislation that would drastically  limit the ability of local governing bodies to restrict or remove controversial or profane books from public library children’s sections and school libraries.

Senate Bill 238 was read across the Senate floor on Feb. 9 and referred to the Senate Judiciary and Education committees.

The measure is presented as an “access to library material” bill. It reaches into Alaska’s criminal code by creating new special carve-out defenses for employees of schools, museums, and public libraries who are accused under certain offenses involving minors and indecent material.

Under the bill, a defendant would be completely protected in his or her actions if he or she was acting in the course of employment as a school, museum, or library employee or official.

The defenses would apply to statutes involving enticement of a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and distribution of indecent material to minors.

Kawasaki believes he needs to protect librarians with a special carve-out that weakens accountability when explicit content is put in front of children.

The legislation would also require the commissioner of education to establish a statewide model policy governing how public libraries select, curate, and reconsider library materials, overriding local control of libraries. The bill describes public libraries as a “marketplace of ideas” and directs that policies must provide protection against attempts to censor materials.

Local governing bodies would be prohibited from removing library material based on disagreement with the ideas or concepts expressed in a work, including objections involving race, gender, sexuality, religion, or politics. The bill also bars governing bodies from restricting access, limiting searchability, or even requiring parental permission for minors to access library material.

SB 238 allows removal of material based on sexual content only under a legal test similar to obscenity standards, requiring findings that the work appeals to prurient interest under contemporary community standards, depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

The bill would prevent state or municipal authorities from reducing library funding because a library complies with these requirements, and it grants immunity from civil and criminal liability for library employees acting in good faith under the policy.

Perhaps most significantly, SB 238 allows librarians, students, parents, authors, booksellers, and publishers to sue government entities that censor or order censorship of library material. Damages would range from $451 to $1,451 per censored work, and prevailing plaintiffs would be entitled to attorney fees and costs. The measure specifies that library-allocated funds may not be used to pay those damages or legal expenses.

The bill can be followed at this link.