Lawmaker again targets content in North Dakota libraries

Yahoo

11-02-2025

Sen. Keith Boehm, R-Mandan, introduces a bill to address explicit content from school and public libraries during a committee hearing on Feb. 10, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
A bill in the North Dakota Senate seeks to protect school and public libraries from obscene content, but opponents say the measure is unnecessary and would lead to censorship.
Senate Bill 2307, sponsored by Sen. Keith Boehm, R-Mandan, would require school and public libraries to remove explicit content from main areas of the library to areas 'not easily accessible' to minors.
The bill would make any person who willfully displays obscene material in areas frequented by minors guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
The proposal seeks to add to regulations approved by lawmakers in 2023 through House Bill 1205, which required public libraries to remove sexually explicit content from the children's section and provide a process for people to challenge books they deem inappropriate.
'Libraries and schools were once places of safety and learning, but over time activists and loopholes in existing law have allowed inappropriate material to be introduced in these spaces,' Boehm said during the hearing.
Boehm argued his bill doesn't ban books, but provides a process for removal of explicit material to areas not easily accessed.
'This is not about limiting free speech,' he said. 'It is about setting reasonable boundaries in spaces where children learn and grow.'
The bill also directs the Attorney General's Office to issue an opinion on a perceived violation if a complainant exhausts the local procedures to seek removal of content. If the attorney general confirms a law violation, the state treasurer or state superintendent would be directed to withhold funding until the library complies.
Boehm sponsored a nearly identical bill during the 2023 legislative session, Senate Bill 2360, that was approved by lawmakers. It was vetoed by then-Gov. Doug Burgum and the House failed to override the veto.
Burgum said in a veto message the bill would create an enormous burden for every library in the state with a threat of criminal prosecution for noncompliance. He added libraries already conduct expansive reviews of materials.
This week, opponents said libraries already have a local review process if someone objects to content.
The State Library conducted a survey related to requests for reconsidering materials in a library collection. Of 97 North Dakota libraries that responded, 86 have not received a single request to reconsider an item in the collection over the past three years, State Librarian Mary Soucie wrote in neutral testimony she submitted.
Gail Reiten, advocacy chair for Right to Read ND, said parents are responsible for approving the content for their children.
'It is not one family's business to decide what is appropriate for other families to access,' Reiten said. 'Library challenges should be addressed by the local boards and follow the review policies already in place.'
Sara Planteen, a North Dakota mother of three, testified in support of the bill. She said she tried to get a book series removed from her children's school library in 2024 but was rebuffed by the school board and left with no recourse.
'We have a society that is trying to desensitize our children to sex,' Planteen told committee members.
The bill also would require libraries to have policies in place to remove digital content that could be accessed by minors.
Andrea Placher, president of the North Dakota Library Association, said this provision would affect the online content hub Overdrive, also known as Libby, that provides tens of thousands of ebooks and audiobooks to library users. Placher said she believes that digital content would need to be prohibited for anyone under 18 to comply with the bill.
Opponents also said libraries have constrained budgets that would prevent constructing walls or adding separate entrances to comply with the bill. They also said it could prevent the hiring of high school students.
Bookmobiles and library programming also would be affected, Placher said.
'It would be nearly impossible to carry only adult or children's collections, so then we'd be faced with the dilemma of choosing one over the other,' Placher said. She added some children's programming, like storytime, occurs in libraries with only one room, or would need to use the main area of the library to accommodate larger groups, which would violate the terms of the bill.
Lindsey Bertsch, manager of Main Street Books in Minot, asked lawmakers if the bill would apply to her store as well.
'It seems like this bill will affect privately-owned businesses based on the language of the bill,' Bertsch said. 'That is something that needs to be considered moving forward.'
The committee took no action on the bill after the public hearing concluded.
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