New State Aid to Public Libraries Rules - Public Comment Open Now
Arkansas readers - the right to read at your public library is under threat.
Recently, the Arkansas State Library board approved a new slate of rules for State Aid to Public Libraries. The public will now have 30 days to comment on these proposed rules by submitting comments to [email protected], with a public comment meeting scheduled for June 12, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. in the ADE Auditorium in Little Rock, AR. The deadline for public comment is June 15, 2026.
The proposed content restrictions in these rules (13 CAR § 4-109) would trample on Arkansans’ constitutional rights to access information and read freely. Using definitions from federal criminal code that would contradict Arkansas’s own harmful to minors statute, the Supreme Court’s Miller Test, and obscenity law, these rules create chaos and uncertainty for librarians and their collections. Libraries would be required to certify that they are upholding state and federal laws, but upholding these rules alongside the legal obligations of the First Amendment would not be possible because even books like the Bible, nonfiction about art, and many other titles fit the legal definitions included. Library collections are sorted according to publisher’s recommendations and community standards while adhering to federal law.
Additionally, despite widely accepted indications that puberty can start as early as age 8, these new rules restrict juvenile nonfiction about puberty to readers ages 11 or older only – well past the point where many young readers will have begun to experience these changes in their own bodies.
Among many other administrative burdens placed on librarians by these new rules, the State Library Board would gain the ability to control a library’s “strategic plan, policies, or spending practices,” requiring local library boards, who have legal authority over Arkansas’s public libraries, to bend to the future will of the State Library Board in order to receive their portion of state funds (13 CAR § 4-107).
These new rules are blatant government overreach on the part of the State Library Board. Access to information saves lives and reduces the potential for abuse. Efforts to protect some children from the lived experiences of others harms all children. Ultimately, parents are responsible for their own children in public spaces like libraries. Read the new rules for yourself and share your thoughts with the state before June 15, 2026 by emailing [email protected]. We will share more information about the public comment meeting on June 12, 2026 soon.