Massachusetts House advances librarian-first book protections

The Massachusetts House passed a bipartisan bill that shifts primary authority over selecting school library materials to librarians, sets a clear process for reviewing challenges, and adds protections for librarians. The measure now heads to a conference comm

On a state known for education, the Massachusetts House moved quickly to shore up library shelves—after years in which book challenges have become an increasingly public fight.

In 2025, Massachusetts ranked fourth in the nation for attempts to restrict access to books, behind Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania. Seeking to address that pressure, the House passed a bipartisan bill earlier this month designed to protect access to books in school and public libraries.

At the center of the bill is a shift in decision-making power. It gives school librarians primary authority over selecting library materials. The bill requires that materials be age-appropriate. serve an educational purpose. and be chosen based on professional training rather than personal or political views.

Massachusetts School Library Association President Reba Tierney said almost every school librarian already follows standards built around those same principles. Librarians may not be able to read every book on the shelf. she said. but they use multiple reviews and rely on publishers’ recommended age ranges to judge whether a book is age-appropriate.

“I think that’s the piece people don’t fully understand — books that make their way to our shelves have purposely been curated and added to the collection,” Tierney said.

The bill also spells out what happens when a book is challenged. Under the measure. every school in Massachusetts would have to adopt a library policy that includes criteria for handling book challenges. Instead of a complaint going directly to the school committee. the committee and the superintendent would appoint a review committee of school personnel to review the book in question.

That review committee would hold a public hearing, then make a recommendation to the school committee, which would vote on whether the book should be removed. During the process, the bill stipulates that the book would remain on the shelf.

Removal could not happen based on disagreement alone. The bill says a school librarian’s book selection couldn’t be overruled unless there is “clear and convincing evidence” that the book is “devoid of any educational. literary. artistic. personal or social value. ” or isn’t age-appropriate for any child at the school.

Rep. Mark Sylvia, D-Fairhaven, said he recognized the importance of clear procedures for reviewing challenged books in 2023, when the Old Rochester Regional School Committee reviewed and ultimately approved 10 commonly challenged books.

Joe Pires, the school committee member who at the time pushed to have the books removed, did not respond to a request for comment.

Tierney said the Massachusetts School Library Association already recommends that every school have a reconsideration policy on file, though she said it’s difficult to determine how many districts lack one because there is no centralized database.

Dartmouth Middle School librarian Laura Gardner, speaking only for herself, told The Light that a reconsideration policy can bring “early end” to book challenges. She said districts that use such a policy require complainants to read each book and specify why they want it removed.

“For districts that do not yet have that policy, now is an especially difficult political climate in which to pass one,” Gardner said, adding that she was pleased the bill would require every district to adopt one.

Madeline Pimentel, the New Bedford High School librarian, declined to comment, saying she hasn’t faced any book challenges at the school.

The bill would also apply to public libraries. Public libraries would need book challenge policies that incorporate the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and prevent books from being selected or removed because of personal or political beliefs.

The New Bedford Free Public Library and the Dartmouth Public Library already have collection development and reconsideration policies, the article notes. The Westport and Fairhaven library directors did not respond to a request to comment by deadline.

Dina St. Pierre, director of libraries in Dartmouth, said the town has not received a formal or informal request for reconsideration in many years. Like Tierney, St. Pierre said librarians put thought into the books they select.

“We take our jobs seriously,” St. Pierre said. “Most of us have pursued master’s degrees in library science, so we’ve invested a lot of time and money into educating ourselves to be librarians.”

The bill would require annual reporting on book challenges and complaints, and it would strengthen protections for school and public librarians against discipline tied to their selection of library materials.

New Bedford representatives supported the bill, with Rep. Christopher Hendricks arguing that protecting librarians matters because threats are “trending up” in Massachusetts. In 2023. a survey of school and public librarians in Massachusetts found that nearly 25% of respondents reported being harassed on social media; 22% reported being harassed via email; and 18% reported being harassed in person because of book or program challenges.

Sylvia said librarians are hired based on background and training and that the process should protect professional integrity—“and that includes indemnifying the people that make those decisions using those qualifications.”

Those protections were the focus of a Republican amendment filed by Rep. John Gaskey, R-Carver. Gaskey’s amendment attempted to remove existing protections for librarians.

“If a school employee is acting in genuine good faith to educate, they have absolutely nothing to fear,” Gaskey said. “But if they are using their taxpayer-funded position to expose children to explicit content under the guise of ideology. then yes. they should face the chill of handcuffs. the loneliness of a cold. dark jail cell.”.

The amendment was voted down nearly unanimously, and the New Bedford representatives voted in favor of the bill and against Gaskey’s amendment.

Rep. Christopher Markey, D-Dartmouth, said the House bill is a response to the increasing number of book challenges and threats.

“I think it’s just one of these things that we’ve always taken for granted,” Markey said. “But as with everything, it seems every typical standard has been changed in the last 10 years.”

Hendricks said the bill gives libraries a “definitive process” for handling book selection and challenges and sets clear standards for which books should stay on shelves.

Rep. Steven Ouellette, D-Westport, voted in favor of the bill for similar reasons in a written statement. He said it “gives people the right to access reading material. doesn’t attack librarians. requires policies to be done. and has follow-up procedures to address complaints on materials that someone may have an issue with.”.

In a written statement, Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral, D-New Bedford, said he supports the bill because it establishes clear standards and a fair, transparent review system.

“I strongly believe in safeguarding the freedom to read. to explore ideas. and to encounter perspectives that reflect the full diversity of our communities. ” Cabral said. “While I recognize the importance of ensuring that age‑appropriate materials are selected with care and professional judgment. it is essential that we stand firmly on the side of intellectual freedom.”.

Sen. Mark Montigny, D-New Bedford, voted in favor of a similar bill that the Senate passed in November 2025. In a written statement. Montigny said. “There is no place for politically motivated censorship within our public schools and libraries. ” adding that freedom of thought and seeing oneself reflected in stories and ideas “is an important aspect of one’s development and learning experience.”.

Like the House bill, the Senate bill allows parents to challenge books they believe are not age-appropriate for any child in the school or lack value, and Montigny said the regulation strikes an “essential” balance.

The House bill will now go to a conference committee with the Senate.

The push comes as national data show the scope of the fights. An American Library Association report in April said 4,235 unique titles were challenged in the United States in 2025. Of these titles, 39% focused on LGBTQ+ people or people of color.

Markey said it’s “absolutely” important to keep books featuring diverse perspectives on the shelf.

“Government’s job is to get people to reach their potential,” Markey said. “The way you get people to reach their potential is, they’ve got to love themselves first. They’ve got to understand who they are.”

He added that books also help people understand other experiences.

Several librarians echoed that view. Gardner said. “We want books in our libraries that represent all of our students. and also give a window into other people’s lives. ” adding that “it’s all about choice — students don’t have to read books that they don’t want to. but those books are there for the students who do want to read them.”.

Tierney said she has seen the impact of representation firsthand. She described a student and their parent reading “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe—a graphic novel that “charts (Kobabe’s) journey of self-identity,” including coming out to family and society.

Tierney said the novel was the third most challenged title in 2025, according to the American Library Association, and that many complaints stem from what critics say are explicit images. She said the student’s takeaway was different.

“There’s some mature content in that book, and I definitely wouldn’t put that book in an elementary school,” Tierney said. “But that is an actual memoir of someone’s lived experience, and there are some students that for them, that’s a lifeline … That is so powerful.”

New Bedford Free Public Library Director Olivia Melo said the library system has not faced any book challenges in recent years.

The American Library Association’s data also shows that most book challenges do not come from parents or library patrons. Nearly 92% of complaints and challenges in 2025 were initiated by “pressure groups and decision makers swayed by them,” the report says. Only 3% came from parents and only 1% were initiated by library patrons.

Several organizations that have spearheaded campaigns to remove books they consider inappropriate from libraries—including Moms for Liberty, Defending Education and Massachusetts Family Institute—did not respond to requests for comment.

This story was originally published by The New Bedford Light and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

Massachusetts House book challenges school libraries librarians American Library Association Library Bill of Rights intellectual freedom censorship Reba Tierney Mark Sylvia John Gaskey