Home to the first public library and the first public school in the country, Massachusetts is known for education. Yet in 2025, the state ranked fourth in the nation for attempts to restrict access to books, behind Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania. Seeking to address the issue, the House passed a bipartisan bill earlier this month designed to protect access to books in school and public libraries. The bill gives school librarians primary authority over selecting library materials. It requires that materials be age-appropriate, serve an educational purpose and be chosen based on professional training rather than personal or political views. Massachusetts School Library Association President Reba Tierney said almost every school librarian already follows these standards. Though they can’t always read every book on the shelf, librarians read multiple reviews and rely on publishers’ recommended age ranges when determining whether a book is age-appropriate, she said.
“I think that’s the piece people don’t fully understand — books that make their way to our shelves have purposely been curated and added to the collection,” Tierney said.
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The House bill would require every school in Massachusetts to adopt a library policy that includes criteria for handling book challenges. Rather than a complaint going directly to the school committee, the committee and the superintendent would appoint a review committee of school personnel to review the book in question.
