Sen. Ceci Maher: Protecting librarians and the right to read

Don’t Ban Library Books Act

CT Senator Ceci Maher, along with Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, 25th District, introduced a bill to protect librarians and prohibit efforts to ban books based on the “origin, background or views of the material or its authors, or solely because a person finds such books offensive.” Maher said the proposed bill provides parents with discretion to decide what books their own children may read, or, alternatively, not read, but doesn’t provide the right to have books banned outright, preventing others from having access to the books they want. If passed, the bill would require libraries to have a system in place to vet individual complaints about a book before taking action, as well as provide legal protection to librarians and library staff for doing their job.

Fox61 News reported that the legislators have received threats by phone and online, due to misinformation that claims the bill will allow kids to access pornography. Duff clarified that "It does not prevent a parent from monitoring and having the final say on the books their children read. It does not prevent libraries from removing books from shelves as long as the proper procedure is followed."

Read Leah Myers’ Fox61 article HERE.

Tracking Issues and Bills

Maher also recently reminded constituents that it’s easy to track the issues and bills they care about as they progress in the General Assembly. To follow legislative proposals, constituents can turn to www.cga.ct.gov. In addition, she points out, most committee, house and senate sessions are broadcast at www.ct-n.com. The website has a daily schedule of events happening in Hartford and easy trackers to find information about your local legislators and their most up-to-date work. There are frequently asked questions about the legislative process, guides on testifying at public hearings and reaching state legislators, while you can also use the Bill Information Search feature to find bills on various topics and follow them from initial proposal to public hearings, committee votes and floor votes with the House and Senate.