It just became more dangerous for a librarian to check out a book to a child in Idaho. On July 1, House Bill 710 went into effect in the state, undermining the agency of library workers to build collections that meet the needs of their communities. The legislation targets “harmful materials” in public and school libraries, requiring library workers to move them within 60 days at the request of any minor, parent or legal guardian — community member or not, library patron or not — or risk a $250 fine and threats of lawsuits.
In Idaho, strict compliance with the definition of “harmful materials” would include any discussion of homosexuality. The term has also been weaponized against any depiction of human sexuality, including masturbation.
The Idaho Family Policy Center has been a major organizing force behind the legislation. The center was founded in 2021 and is focused on “promoting God-honoring public policy.” While the right-wing proponents of the law argue that they’re trying to make libraries “safer” for children, librarians say the law addresses a problem that doesn’t exist while producing intolerable working conditions that have more than half of librarians looking to leave the state.
Book challenges in Idaho are rare, say many of the librarians in the state, and they are easily handled through the ordinary processes that libraries have long had in place to facilitate public input into library collections, programs and services. A library director in Lewiston, Idaho, said she has received only a single challenge in her 17 years of service, while Sherry Scheline, director of the Donnelly Public Library reported only two challenges in the history of the library, both resolved through conversation. Data backs up these experiences. A recent study by researchers at Boise State University’s School of Public Service indicated that 69 percent of Idahoans “trust public libraries and librarians to choose the books that are made available to them.”
While the law does little to make the world safer for children, it has immediately impacted working conditions for libraries across the state. Following passage of the legislation in the spring, the Larsen-Sant Public Library in Preston, Idaho, closed for several weeks “to make sure the library is in compliance with the new law,” reviewing each title and moving materials out of reach of young readers. In Donnelly, Scheline now requires explicit permission from parents to allow patrons under 18 to enter the library without a guardian. Like many small and rural libraries in Idaho, hers is a single room. Without space to move materials, Scheline cannot comply with the law unless she keeps children out of the library. An informal survey by the Idaho Library Association suggested that more than half of librarians in the state are considering leaving their jobs.
Such an exodus would mimic what has happened to obstetricians in Idaho. Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the state’s anti-abortion trigger law went into effect, producing one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. The impact on access to reproductive health care was immediate. In the two years following the ban, Idaho lost 1 in 5 obstetricians. Half of the counties in the state have no practicing obstetricians at all. When legislation makes practicing one’s profession dangerous, turning standard practices into criminalized activities, the case to stay can be a hard one to make.
As enacted, HB 710 is about much more than books. It is also a direct attack on the agency and autonomy of library workers and the institutions they build and maintain. As libraries close their doors to children and limit access to information out of fear of these attacks, they are also organizing to fight back against the yearslong assault they’ve faced. Supporters rallied for libraries the day the law went into effect, declared a Day of Action by the Idaho Democratic Party. That support is essential, said Huda Shaltry, legislative chair of the Idaho Library Association. “If we’re not fighting, who else will?”
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