Librarians and Booksellers Will Be Arrested For Doing Their Jobs in Arkansas
Several years and several states in, laws targeting library collections and library workers continue to increase. Now, thanks to a federal court, a draconian censorship law in Arkansas has the thumbs up to proceed. The law criminalizes librarians and booksellers for providing materials to their communities, resulting not only in a widespread chilling effect in Arkansas public libraries but also in the prosecution of librarians for doing their jobs.
Arkansas Act 372 amends state laws by including librarians and booksellers among those who can be criminally charged for distributing or providing materials deemed “harmful to minors.” The law allows anyone to challenge the “appropriateness” of materials, yet fails to define what constitutes “obscene” or “inappropriate.” “Anyone” here is also not limited to Arkansas residents; anyone who lives anywhere can lodge complaints about materials they believe are “harmful to minors.” Challenged materials would face a public hearing to determine whether they can remain on shelves or must be removed.
Librarians and booksellers could face up to a year in prison if they’re found to have “distributed” inappropriate material to those under the age of 18. The law, which doesn’t bother defining what constitutes inappropriate, does go to painstaking lengths in defining what is meant by “distributed.” This includes simply having the book sitting on a shelf. Book displays, book recommendations, and other means of highlighting materials would be folded into the definition of “distributed.”
Act 372 was passed in March 2023 and immediately faced a legal fight. A Circuit Court judge issued an injunction in July 2023, and Fayette Public Library, along with Pearl’s Bookstore in Fayette, filed a lawsuit challenging Act 372 as vague and overreaching. Additional plaintiffs, including several other public libraries, bookstores, and individual parents in Arkansas, joined in the lawsuit. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas declared Sections 1 and 5 of Arkansas Act 372 unconstitutional in January 2025, permanently enjoining its enforcement.
On July 30, 2026, Eighth Circuit Appeals Judge L. Steven Grasz–a Trump appointee–submitted a 24-page decision overturning that court’s decision. He did not believe the law was constitutionally vague, calling the injunction of the law one based on hypotheticals. And yet, the very law itself was constructed based on a hypothetical that libraries and bookstores are full of “inappropriate” and “obscene” materials for those under the age of 18. There is no such thing–instead, laws like this one cater to one political party whose agenda includes cutting off access to a diverse array of literature and to undermining the experience and knowledge of professionals–including librarians and booksellers.
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It should come as little surprise that Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin praised this decision. Griffin is among the group of state attorneys general who signed on to an Amicus Brief in another book banning lawsuit currently in the 11th Circuit that challenges Florida’s authority to decide which books can be removed from public schools in the state. That Brief emphasized that state governments should be allowed to censor whatever materials they wish to in public schools.
“Today’s decision threatens every Arkansan’s freedom to read and learn,” wrote the Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. “The government should never decide which ideas people may access. Libraries and bookstores should be places for exploration and discovery — not censorship.”
The architecture of Arkansas Act 372 is intended to create censorship from the inside. Without clear guidelines for what does and doesn’t constitute legal material, librarians and booksellers will be faced with the reality of deciding whether or not to provide age-appropriate LGBTQ+ materials or books about puberty on their shelves; if they do, they could be put in jail for simply doing their jobs. It will lead to a further cessation of Pride displays and events, among other opportunities to showcase the full, robust collection in a library–which is itself a full and robust reflection of the communities the library serves.
This is but a stepping stone to even wider book censorship. Where early on in this rise of book banning censors found success in getting books by and about people of color removed under the guise of “Critical Race Theory,” they’ve found far more legal success in targeting LGBTQ+ titles by claiming they’re age-inappropriate and/or obscene. This has been especially true in states with red legislatures and in courtrooms where judges are Trump appointees. Success in one arena will only provide further opportunities to seek success in others. Indeed, we already know that Black girls face greater sexualization at younger ages than their peers of other races, providing a way into further erasure of marginalized people from mainstream society.
For all the talk book censors have made over the last six years about only hoping to “curate safe school libraries,” laws like these lay bare the lie. This is about the widespread removal and targeting of any literature and those who provide it that doesn’t align with a specific, narrow worldview. Arkansas’s law is a roadmap for other censorship-happy legislators across the country. Despite efforts to stave off librarian criminalization bills floated in several states for years, this decision from the Eighth Circuit will lead to more such bills, now with a legal permission slip.
“Libraries and bookstores should be places where people can freely explore ideas — not where booksellers and librarians face criminal liability for selling, checking out, or even just shelving constitutionally protected books,” said John Adams, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. “The freedom to read is fundamental to a free society and has always been protected by the First Amendment. We remain committed to defending that principle. We are reviewing the court’s opinion carefully and evaluating all available legal options, including further review by the courts.”
Those legal options may include a further appeal of the decision. But for now, the law can proceed. Without question, we’ll begin to see a tide shift in Arkansas libraries and bookstores–and the fear that will permeate these institutions will provide only more kindling for the political party whose platform at this point consists primarily of doing as much harm to anyone not bowing to white supremacy as possible.
Whether or not you’re in Arkansas, this will impact you, even if you live in a “good” “blue” state. We’ve already seen what book censorship laws in Texas have done to the publishing industry, and we’ll certainly see where and how other means of educational control will impact young people over the next few years. With librarians and booksellers now criminally liable for providing access to age-appropriate material that those with perceived power read with ill intent, we’ll see a chilling effect further permeate these institutions nationwide.
Arrests and censorship will not be hypothetical here.
You can keep tabs on what’s happening in Arkansas, as well as get involved in pushing back, with the help of the Arkansas Right to Read Project. Additional organizations doing essential work in the state include the Arkansas Library Association and the Arkansas chapter of Authors Against Book Bans.
It was through the tremendous efforts of decARcerate and other pro-literacy advocates in the state earlier this year that put a pause to a policy that would ban access to literature for incarcerated individuals. It will take tremendous effort to continue pushing back against laws like Act 372, but this work is not only crucial. It is the foundation of what democracy is–action.
