As local libraries navigate censorship law, national group calls for repeal

Arkansas Times · Matt Campbell · September 3, 2026

When the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of censorship in July, overturning a lower court’s injunction against a law that potentially exposes librarians to criminal charges if a minor checks out something “harmful,” many folks predicted implementation of the law would lead to drastic changes in many libraries around the state.

Just over a month later, those predictions are proving prescient, with libraries making wholesale changes to how and what minors can check out. At least one national group has taken notice and is calling for the state to repeal the draconian law.

Under Act 372 of 2023, librarians can face criminal liability for distributing content that some consider “obscene” or “harmful to minors.” The law also gives city and county governing bodies final say over what goes on a library’s shelves.

A group of plaintiffs that included libraries, bookstores, advocacy groups and individual library patrons sued the state, challenging the constitutionality of Act 372. U.S District Judge Timothy Brooks issued a temporary injunction in July 2023 , pausing implementation of the law, and then made that injunction permanent in December 2024 . Brooks said the law violated the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, that they were too broad and vague to be applied constitutionally and that parts of the law would “violate Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights by imposing content-based restrictions on protected speech that are not narrowly tailored to serve compelling state interests.”

The state appealed Brooks’ decision. In July, the Eighth Circuit reversed Brooks’ decision , lifted the permanent injunction and said that the law could take effect. Arkansas libraries have spent the last month-plus trying to figure out how to thread that needle.

Immediately after the Eighth Circuit’s decision, the Independence County Library announced it would no longer allow patrons under 18 to check out manga content — comic books and graphic novels that originate from Japan — and adult-oriented graphic novels.

More recently in Craighead County — symbolically, at least, Ground Zero for the state’s attack on libraries, thanks to Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro) — the library announced several changes to circulation as it relates to minors. In a Facebook post , the library listed a number of changes to library policies, including:

Minors are prohibited from using the self-checkout kiosks;

Children under 13 years old may only check out materials from the designated children’s collection, while minors age 13-17 can only check out from the children or teen sections;

Minors may not check out DVDs at all; and

Minors are prohibited from entering or purchasing anything from the Friends of the Library Bookstore.

And in Pulaski County, while the Central Arkansas Library System has not yet announced any wholesale changes to circulation policies, outgoing CALS director Nate Coulter urged the CALS board to use “tact” and err on the side of policies that limit librarians’ potential exposure to criminal charges.

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , Coulter “told the board of directors during a meeting … that he does not want any library employee to have to ‘suffer the trauma’ of being charged under the law, even if the individual is acquitted.”

“So I think it will be imperative that this board and my successor be aggressive about doing everything you can to minimize that risk,” Coulter said.

At the same time that local libraries are struggling with implementation, Act 372 is drawing national attention as well. EveryLibrary, a national political action organization dedicated to defending and advancing public, school and academic libraries, called for state leaders to repeal and replace the law with something that removes criminal penalties and is more consistent with the role of libraries and their place in a healthy society.

“Arkansas already has laws addressing obscenity and material that is legally harmful to minors,” EveryLibrary’s press release said. “Libraries also have professional collection development policies, reconsideration procedures, and systems that recognize the role parents have in directing their own children’s reading. Protecting those interests does not require threatening librarians with arrest or forcing libraries to make decisions about constitutionally protected materials under the possibility of criminal prosecution.”

EveryLibrary said they are “calling on Arkansas legislators to work with librarians, educators, parents, booksellers, constitutional experts and community leaders to develop legislation that repeals Act 372 and replaces it with an approach grounded in constitutional rights, parental responsibility, professional library practice and the rights of Arkansas readers.”

“Protecting children and protecting the right to read do not have to be opposing goals,” they said. “A well-written law can respect both.”

Read the full story at Arkansas Times