Report: “Iowa Librarians Push Back on GOP Bills as a ‘Thinly Veiled Attack on Libraries'”

From The Des Moines Register:

Iowa librarians are pushing back on multiple Republican-led bills that they say would take away local control from public libraries and threaten Iowans’ access to information, while supporters favor the measures to block children from accessing “inappropriate” material.

Multiple proposals advanced this week in the Iowa House and Senate add to Iowa’s yearslong push by conservatives to remove books from public schools and libraries that often feature LGBTQ characters and themes and explore racial inequities.

Critics say they contain sexually explicit or offensive material and are unsuitable for children.

One bill, Senate File 238, and its House companion House File 284, would make public libraries ineligible for the state’s Enrich Iowa aid program if they are a dues-paying member of state or federal library advocacy organizations.

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The bills target joining the American Library Association and Iowa Library Association as the groups have been embroiled in conservative pushback for fighting to preserve access to commonly banned books that conservatives find objectionable.

“This legislation is just one more thinly veiled attack on libraries — libraries that serve their communities in so many ways,” Des Moines Public Library Director Sue Woody told lawmakers at a subcommittee hearing Wednesday.

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American Library Association President Sam Helmick, who works at the Iowa City Public Library, said it is unconstitutional for public entities to lose benefits such as state funding because of how they exercise their free speech rights or participate in professional organizations.

Helmick was concerned about lawmakers’ efforts to strip local control from public libraries.

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