• Learn about Library Censorship and responding to it.

Read the American Library Association's materials on Library Challenges [Click Here].

Read up on Censorship and Free Speech law [Click Here for Books on Censorship].

Review what courts have said about it [Click Here for key Court Cases]. 

• Report the attempted censorship to your state's Library Association and to the American Library Association.

Report challenges to the American Library Association: [Click Here]. 

Look up your state's chapter: [Click Here]. 

• Report the attempted censorship to your state's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Look up your local chapter of the ACLU :[Click Here].

• Educate local officials about censorship law.

Local officials are rarely versed in censorship issues as they apply to libraries.  This is often true even of city and county attorneys, since this is a specialized area of law.  It is important, then, to remind officials of several key considerations:

• The US Supreme court has defined public libraries to be "limited public forums," a category to which very strict rules protecting free speech apply.
• Courts have applied the terms "ban" and "censorship" to removing or re-shelving a single book in a single library, and have ordered such actions reversed.
• Libraries have no parental authority (no "in loco parentis"), and so do not decide which children can read which books.
• Courts have held that parents have the right and responsibility to supervise their own children's use of a public library -- and should do so without infringing on the Free Speech rights of others.
• A lawsuit against the city or county for violating Free Speech laws and precedents can be expensive to the taxpayer.

• Make sure your local elected officials -- those with the most control over the library -- know you oppose library censorship, by writing letters, sending emails, and attending public meetings.

Keep your letters and messages polite, brief, and clear.

Where appropriate, include a list of references to court cases that are applicable to the kind of censorship being considered.

Consider using all or part of the boiler plate provided on this website [Click Here].

Encourage officials to seek legal advice from an attorney with experience in Free Speech law as it applies to public libraries.

• Form your own review committee and review the challenged materials.

It is amazing how many attempts at censorship are undertaken by people who have NOT read the books to which they are objecting.  Don't get caught in the same position of ignorance!  Divide the challenged material up among volunteers and read or review it carefully.  If you find that the censorship proponents are making false claims about a book's content, bring public attention to that fact.

• Consider how much and what kind of media coverage you want

While media attention might not be the best thing in every situation, it often is quite important in censorship debates.  Where censorship succeeds, it is often because it has "flown under the radar."  That is, lack of public attention allowed decisions to be made on the basis of political expediency rather than strict adherence to the law.  In such cases, media attention can help get out the message that there is local opposition to censorship and can also provide a vehicle for educating both the public and public officials.  

DO NOT ASSUME that news media will thoroughly investigate the situation or understand your position.  Take an active role in providing detailed information to media outlets. Keep a list of email addresses of print, radio, and TV stations.  Develop personal contacts with reporters.   Provide them with your point of view and sources on the legal framework that applies to the specific situation.

One practical item can be important: if you have a group of more than two or three individuals, it is a good idea to designate one individual as the media liaison and to stick to that plan.  The larger your group, the more likely it is that different members will have different understandings of what is going on at any point in time, and giving conflicting information to different reporters can seriously undermine your project.
 

• Educate the general public

When it comes to the public in general, most people have a very incomplete understanding of Free Speech law and of library practice.  It is usually necessary to explain -- calmly, clearly, and logically -- what obscenity is and is not, the difference between protected and unprotected speech, and the strict rules against censorship libraries are required by law to follow. 

• Organize and participate in Banned Books Week activities in your locality, as a means of educating the public and raising awareness of the problem.  

See the ALA's webpage on Banned Books Week: [Click Here].  

And the event's own webpage: [Click Here].