STATE HOUSE — State Senators passed Sen. Mark McKenney‘s (D-Dist. 30, Warwick) Freedom to Read Act Tuesday protecting libraries and patrons from partisan & doctrinal book-banning efforts and affirm the free speech rights of authors, publishers and readers in Rhode Island.
The Freedom to Read Act (2025-S 0238A) would promote the free expression and free access of information by prohibiting the censorship of library materials. It now moves to the House of Representatives where similar legislation (2025-H 5726) has been introduced by Rep. David Morales (D-Dist. 7, Providence).
“We can decide what books we want to check out from the library, and we can decide what our own children read or don’t read. But what we can’t do is decide what everyone else gets to read or what other people’s children get to read or not read,” said McKenney. “Reading is a gift, and it is so important that we stay protective of the gift of reading and that when someone wants to take it away, whether by banning books directly or by launching lawsuits attempting to intimidate libraries, schools and librarians because of a book they have on their shelves, we fight.”
The act would charge the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, in collaboration with the chief of library services, to develop policies regarding library collection policies for public and school libraries in order to provide standards for the selection and curation of library material, establish criteria for the removal of existing school library material and provide protection against attempts to censor library material. These policies would be designed to support the freedom to read as a human right, encourage and protect the freedom of public libraries to acquire books and other materials without external limitations and ensure that these materials not be banned, removed, censored or have access to them restricted due to doctrinal or partisan disapproval.
“Public libraries are the repositories of free thought, and librarians are the guardians of those principles,” said Senator McKenney. “It should be the policy of every state to guarantee that libraries remain a place of free and open exchange of ideas without any partisan or doctrinal pressure. The legislation would absolutely prohibit materials being removed from public libraries because of those pressures.”
The legislation would also assert that “Authors, creators, and publishers have a right to communicate their ideas to anyone who is interested in receiving them. Students and library patrons of all ages have a corresponding right to encounter them without government interference.”
Author: Rob Borkowski
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at editor@warwickpost.com with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
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