Library Law : Ohio and Federal: First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The US Supreme Court stated that a school board lacks authority to ban library books just because they contain ideas that school board members find repugnant.

The public library collection itself is a nonpublic forum where patron speech is most limited, and the library possesses the broadest ability to regulate that space (by deciding what goes into the collection). Specifically, in this case The Supreme Court upheld the part of the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 that requires libraries to install filters on Internet computers in order to qualify for federal funding and discounts for computers and computer access.

US Dept of Education 1/24/25

ALA 6/22/23

Law Library of Congress Report July 2024

Yahoo News 2/17/25

Fast Company 12/12/23

CNN 12/29/23

Digital Public Library of America 8/13/24

The Conversation 7/20/23

National Education Policy Center report 2023

AP News 6/22/24

AP News 4/9/24

APnews 11/8/23

THE FIRST AMENDMENT ENCYCLOPEDIA - Middle Tennessee State University

Komonews.com 12/9/24

The Guardian 4/20/23

NPR 12/14/23

Just Security 10/3/23

2023 Federal Dist court case from Arkansas. Law preliminarily enjoined because censoring collections violates First Amendment.

The 5th Cir Ct of Appeals in 2024 modified slightly a preliminary injunction requiring the library to put back on the shelves several books that patrons had objected to. The case continues.