3 Ways to Stand Up for Free Speech and Libraries
April 4, 2025
Authors Guild Submits Testimony in Support of Rhode Island Freedom to Read Act
March 31, 2025
On March 12, the Authors Guild filed written testimony with the Rhode Island Senate Education Committee in support of the Freedom to Read Act (S0238), a bill that would provide critical protections for authors, publishers, and educators against book bans. Among other provisions, the bill would prohibit censoring library materials based on the origin, background, or views of the author, consistent with longstanding Supreme Court precedent. This is essential to ensuring that books are not removed on the basis of vague and arbitrary standards or without consideration of the work as a whole. It also would give authors the right to sue government bodies subjecting them to censorship, with the opportunity to recover attorneys’ fees and costs if they prevail. It would ensure that library employees are immune from civil or criminal liability for good-faith actions performed in the course of their duties.
As we noted in our comments, book bans are “antithetical to a healthy democracy, which requires vigorous literary debate, a diversity of ideas, and a tolerance for discourse that some find offensive or challenging.” The Freedom to Read bill provides “vitally important safeguards against unconstitutional assaults on authors’ and readers’ freedom of speech.”
We look forward to working with other free speech organizations and the members of the Rhode Island legislature to ensure that the bill swiftly becomes law.