"Minnesota recently passed legislation called Access to Library Materials and Rights Protected, Laws of Minnesota 2024, chapter 109, article 7, section 2. This legislation prohibits public libraries, as well as libraries in public schools and public higher education institutions, from banning, removing, or restricting access to books or other materials based solely on their viewpoint or conveyed messages, ideas, or opinions. It emphasizes the importance that library collection policies have in directing collection development decisions or working through a reconsideration process. The new legislation does not impair or limit the rights of parents, guardians, or adult students. However, the legislation explicitly prohibits removing books based on ideological objections from “public” libraries of all types. Library workers in Minnesota should become familiar with the law and discuss the implications for their workplaces. Here are a few key points in the legislation: - Intellectual Freedom: library workers are prohibited from removing or restricting access to materials solely based on their viewpoint, conveyed messages, ideas, or opinions.
- Parent and Adult Learner Rights: parents or guardians retain the right to restrict their child’s access to specific materials; however, library workers must adhere to collection policies and guidelines for library collections. Parents, guardians, and adult students have rights in curriculum review that must be honored in library policy and procedure.
- Library Policies: libraries and their governing bodies must adopt well-defined collection development policies that outline criteria for selecting and maintaining materials. There must also be guidelines and procedures for the reconsideration of library materials. These policies ensure consistency and adherence to the legislation.
- Library Materials Challenges: take materials challenges seriously, follow your collection policies and procedures, uphold intellectual freedom, and maintain detailed records for required reporting to State Library Services and optional reports to the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom.
- Library Workers: library workers administer library collections. They can be Certified Licensed Media Specialists, individuals with a Masters of Library Science or Library Information Science degree, or a library worker trained in library collection management.
Updates from State Library ServicesAccording to Tami Lee, Minnesota State Librarian and Director of State Library Services, the new legislation requires publicly funded libraries in Minnesota to report the results of materials challenges or reconsideration requests to the Commissioner of Education. This requirement officially went into effect on August 1, 2024. State Library Services has information about Library Materials Challenges, with a definition about what qualifies as an incident to report. The Library Materials Challenge Report Form is the official reporting mechanism and will be reviewed by State Library Services staff. Submit the form after completing a material challenge or reconsideration request, and every incident requires a new report. State Library Services will post a new position later this fall for a State Media Specialist Librarian. This position will support the work happening in schools, represent school libraries at the legislature, and serve as a resource for library workers going through materials challenges.Support from MLA and the Library CommunityI spoke with Rachel Haider, current President of the Information Technology Educators of MN (ITEM) division of the Minnesota Library Association (MLA) and a Library Media Specialist with Eagan High School. She has fought 3 book challenges since 2021 and recommends that school library workers dealing with challenges reach out to the MLA for resources and support. ITEM division is a good place to start, along with the Intellectual Freedom Committee and Legislative Committee. If your school does not have an up to date materials reconsideration policy, the Minnesota School Board Association (MSBA) created sample policy 606.5. Your local school board should have MSBA membership and access to that sample policy, it's a good starting point for schools as they create their own local policy and procedure. For library workers attending the MLA Annual Conference, there will be a session titled "What the Ban on Book Bans Means for You" by the MLA Legislative and Intellectual Freedom Committees as well as State Library Services, to help explain the new legislation, answer questions, and provide guidance to folks in attendance.Training on Collection DevelopmentLibrary workers without Library Science degrees or Media Specialist certifications can still administer library collections, but they must be trained in collection development. The Minneapolis College Library Information Technology Program will be offering an 8 week fully online collection development course called Access to Library Materials in MN later this fall. I spoke with jenny sippel, Faculty Librarian and Instructor at Minneapolis College, and she developed this course to be practical and applicable to library staff working in Minnesota. Students will analyze the new legislation, learn some of the history of book banning, meet important library folks from around the state, and draft a collection development policy. St. Kate’s Masters of Library and Information Science Program regularly offers a Collection Management course that covers book banning and many aspects of working with library collections. There are many groups around Minnesota talking about what this education should look like and how this training should be delivered to library workers, more options should be available as the fall progresses. National and Library Community ResourcesJami Trenam, former Chair of the MLA Legislative Committee and Associate Director of Collection Development at Great River Regional Library (GRRL), recently underwent a full collection development policy review with all the appropriate leadership and stakeholders. She admits that this process is a lot of work, but important to do in light of this new legislation. She recommends checking out The American Library Association (ALA) Office of Intellectual Freedom’s Challenge Support website and Intellectual Freedom resource list. You will find many excellent resources like the Selection & Reconsideration Policy Toolkit for Public, School, & Academic Libraries or the Intellectual Freedom Manual, which has example policies and questions to consider. In addition, Jami recommends reaching out to colleagues for inspiration, she found it helpful to review publicly available policies from libraries around the state as GRRL worked through updates.Moving ForwardThe Access to Library Materials and Rights Protected legislation affirms the important role library workers have in developing library collections and protecting intellectual freedom in Minnesota. The requirements increase transparency and require libraries to review and publish policy around materials challenges and reconsiderations requests. It presents library workers with an opportunity to work together to share knowledge and resources. This legislation is new and Minitex will be following developments closely. We hope to have a follow up article with updates about educational opportunities, resources, and people doing this work. Let us know if you have anything to share!"¹¹Sources:¹https://minitex.umn.edu/news/2024-08/access-library-materials-and-rights-protected-explanation-minnesota-library-workers#:~:text=This%20legislation%20prohibits%20public%20libraries,messages%2C%20ideas%2C%20or%20opinions. 
