BOSTON (MSI) — The Massachusetts House has passed a bipartisan bill designed to protect access to books in school and public libraries, placing the state at the forefront of a growing legislative response to a surge in book-ban attempts across the country.
Massachusetts, home to the first public library and the first public school in the nation, ranked fourth in the U.S. in 2025 for the number of attempts to restrict access to books, trailing only Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania, according to data cited by lawmakers supporting the measure.
The bill gives school librarians primary authority over the selection of library materials. It mandates that books and other resources be age-appropriate, serve a legitimate educational purpose, and be chosen based on professional training rather than the personal or political beliefs of board members or administrators.
“Almost every school librarian already follows these standards,” said Reba Tierney, president of the Massachusetts School Library Association. She noted that while librarians cannot always read every book on the shelf, they rely on multiple professional reviews and publishers’ recommended age ranges to make informed decisions.
For public libraries, the legislation requires the adoption of policies consistent with the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which holds that materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation. The measure explicitly prohibits the removal of books based on personal or political viewpoints.
The bill is part of the Massachusetts Senate’s broader “Response 2025” initiative, a legislative package designed to address what lawmakers describe as federal threats to civil rights and state-level governance. The Senate passed its version of the library bill in November 2025.
The Massachusetts legislation arrives amid a sharply divided national landscape on the issue. While states like Iowa and Tennessee have passed laws restricting certain books or allowing their removal, a growing number of states are pushing back. Illinois and Colorado have enacted laws protecting library materials from censorship, and Rhode Island is considering its own “Freedom to Read Act.”
The measure now heads to the Senate for a potential vote on a final version before being sent to the governor.