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NEW MEXICO BOOK BILL

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

While many states have considered or passed laws making it easier to remove books from libraries, others have bucked that trend. In New Mexico, some local efforts to remove books have prompted state lawmakers to try to protect librarians from that kind of pressure. From KUNM in Albuquerque, Nash Jones reports.

NASH JONES, BYLINE: At an Albuquerque public library last month, a small group gathers to talk about book bans. Librarian Garren Hochstetler is concerned about the removal of library books in other states, like neighboring Texas.

GARREN HOCHSTETLER: I'm hoping we don't get anywhere near that and we can stay a place where reading is much more free, the First Amendment's guarantee is respected and people are respected.

JONES: He was encouraged by a big turnout at an Albuquerque school board meeting against banning books with LGBTQ content. Now he's urging support for a bill in the New Mexico Legislature to protect librarians from that kind of pressure. Here's bill sponsor Democratic State Representative Kathleen Cates.

KATHLEEN CATES: It is something that's very important to me, that our librarians are able to do what they have been educated and trained to do. And to drag them into political culture wars is not serving anyone.

JONES: The American Library Association, which advocates for libraries and library workers, says there were complaints against more than a thousand library books in the first eight months of last year. Cates filed the bill after a failed attempt to remove books, several with LGBTQ content, from libraries in the city of Rio Rancho. Cates says library staff in smaller towns worry they won't have the backing to stand up to similar pressure.

CATES: And so we felt like we needed a state bill to give them the protection that I feel librarians deserve.

JONES: The bill would withhold state funding from public libraries that ban books because of, quote, "partisan or doctrinal disapproval or the author's race, nationality, gender identity or sexual orientation." It does allow books to be removed according to the process each library already has, which can involve library boards, not just a single librarian. Republican State Representative Stefani Lord opposes the bill because of books she considers too sexually explicit.

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STEFANI LORD: I don't want children to have access to pornographic material. And again, I'm not talking about romance. I'm not talking about anybody's opposing view. I'm not talking about anybody's gender identity or political or religion or anything else.

JONES: She says librarians should have the power to unilaterally remove books.

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LORD: I just don't understand why there's not an exclusion that if a book is extremely graphic, that a librarian can't just say, you know what? - this is absolutely above and beyond and so egregious that I want to pull the book.

JONES: Alex Garlick, assistant professor of political science at the University of Vermont, says he's tracked...

ALEX GARLICK: An increased call for parental rights, particularly expressed over local schools and local libraries.

JONES: Garlick says New Mexico's action will be watched elsewhere.

GARLICK: First, it could have a policy impact at the state level of protecting librarians in a state like New Mexico, but then it can also demonstrate what could be a politically useful tool. And something that can work in New Mexico could work in other states as well.

JONES: The American Library Association says there are bills in some 20 states to restrict access to books, but New Mexico is 1 of 4 with bills to protect what it calls the right to read. As the bill's debated in Santa Fe, librarian Garren Hochstetler and his fellow organizers are trying to grow the movement.

HOCHSTETLER: It's showing up to the public meetings. It's doing writing. It's having conversations with your parents group, with your family. That's what makes the change.

JONES: Last year, the legislature ran out of time before it could pass a similar bill. Hochstetler says he hopes advocacy can help propel it across the line this year.

For NPR News, I'm Nash Jones in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Nash Jones