A California law making book bans illegal went into effect Jan. 1.

The bill, authored by Al Muratsuchi who represents California’s 66th Assembly District, requires state-funded public libraries to create a publicly accessible policy that outlines the selection and removal of books, as well as a process for patrons to contest the library material. It also prohibits the exclusion of books based on characteristics of book subjects, the author, inclusion of diverse perspectives and sexual content.

In 2022, the American Library Association reported 1,269 demands to censor library material and 2,571 challenges to book titles. The majority of books subject to these book title challenges were either written by or included characters who were members of the LGTBQ+ community or identified as people of color.

California is not immune to these attempts to ban books, including the Huntington Beach Library, said Jené Brown, the director for emerging technologies and collections at the Los Angeles Public Library.

According to LAist, the Huntington Beach City Council passed a resolution limiting minors’ access to library material with sexual content in 2023. Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates also preemptively announced his intent to contest AB 1825 before it passed.

While LAPL has not had any books banned from the library, Brown said the system has received opposition to book titles and an estimated average of five to six requests for reassessment of library material per year, often stemming from disagreements about books placed in the children’s section.

Brown said she believes libraries should reflect the diversity of the population they serve.

“We have a wide and diverse service population, and therefore, our collection should represent and reflect those service populations,” Brown said.

Advocates of book removal may have political agendas that they try to impose onto what patrons read, said Sara Maghami, president of Bruin Book Club.

Gregory Leazer, a professor of information studies, said such people often claim to be concerned about the children’s exposure to age inappropriate material. However, he added that he believes some concerns are extreme.

“It’s a phantom of imagination when parents say, ‘These librarians are giving my children pornography,’” he said. “It’s ridiculous.”

Newly elected Republican politicians have also expressed interest in limiting books taught in schools, said Maghami, a third-year psychobiology and communications student. She added that the law could protect Californians from any forms of book bans, as Republicans currently control the House, Senate and presidency.

“Maybe it (the bill) was a preemptive measure by California to combat anything that they try to do,” Maghami said.

AB 1825 also protects library employees from termination for refusing to take materials off the shelves without proper review. Brown said that the selection or removal of books can put librarians’ employment on the line, making the bill important for them.

“It’s a victory for us because so many colleagues across the country that I hear about are facing these sorts of challenges and even librarians losing their jobs over upholding intellectual freedom,” Brown said.

However, the constitutionality of book challenges is ambiguous, said Eugene Volokh, professor emeritus at the UCLA School of Law.

In Island Trees School District v. Pico, a 1982 Supreme Court case, students in New York filed a lawsuit against their school board, alleging it violated the First Amendment after temporarily removing books at the request of parents. Volokh added that four justices ruled it was constitutional, while the other four ruled the opposite.

The ninth judge, Justice White, ruled in favor of the students, but refused to opine on the issue in the context of the First Amendment, Volokh said, leaving the decision unclear.

“There is no First Amendment precedent – at least nationwide precedent – resolving that question,” said Volokh.

Brown said she hopes the law starts a greater movement across the country to stop book bans.

“I think that this bill will certainly champion the freedom to read in California and hopefully serve as a shining example to other states about how to get it right,” Brown said.