MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont lawmakers are pushing for several bills aimed at preventing what some describe as attacks on libraries.
The pair of bills would create a statewide process for libraries to review and consider objections to books. It would also expand confidential protections of what young people take out of libraries from 16 to 12 years old.
At a rally at the Statehouse on Tuesday, librarians said that though book bans in Vermont are rare, the proposals are aimed at protecting intellectual freedom.
“What can happen here and does happen here is what’s called soft censorship. When someone is concerned that a book might be controversial and someone chooses not to have it because they are worried,” said Rebecca Sofferman of the Vermont School Library Association.
But some have concerns about parents’ rights over what their kids read.
The bills follow a two-year, 700-page report to state lawmakers on the challenges facing public libraries.