Assembly Bill 1825 (AB 1825) establishes the California Freedom to Read Act.
AB 1825 is applicable to Public Library Jurisdictions defined as every county, city and county, city, or any district that is authorized by law to provide public library services and that operates a Public Library. A Public Library is a library, or two or more libraries, operated as a single entity by one or more public jurisdictions and which serve the general public without distinction, including any public library operated on a contractual basis, or by a city, including a general law or charter city, county, special district, or joint powers authority.
California Freedom to Read Act requires all Public Library Jurisdictions that directly receive any state funding to establish, adopt, and maintain a written and publicly accessible collection development policy for their libraries by January 1, 2026 (Collection Development Policy). The Collection Development Policy must guide the selection and deselection of library materials. The policy must establish a process for community members to share their concerns regarding library materials and request materials be reconsidered for inclusion in the Public Library’s collection. The Collection Development Policy must acknowledge that the Public Library’s collection meets the broad and diverse interests of the community and respects both the Public Library’s autonomy and its specific community needs, that library materials should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people, and should present diverse points of view in the collection as a whole, the right of the public to receive access to a range of social, political, aesthetic, moral, and other ideas and experiences and establish that the Public Library serves as a center for voluntary inquiry and the dissemination of information and ideas.
Each Public Library Jurisdiction must send its Collection Development Policy to the State Librarian. The State Librarian, or their designee, is authorized to provide technical assistance to the Public Library in developing their Collection Development Policy.
California Freedom to Read Act prohibits a librarian, library media specialist, other employee, or contractor at a Public Library from being subject to termination, demotion, discipline, or retaliation for refusing to remove library material before it has been reviewed in accordance with the applicable Collection Development Policy or for making displays, acquisitions, or programming decisions that the employee or contractor believes, in good faith, are in accordance with the California Freedom to Read Act.
California Freedom to Read Act places certain parameters on the governing board or body of a Public Library, or any body or commission designated to review the procurement, retention, or circulation of, or access to, library materials (Library Governing Body). The Library Governing Body is prohibited from proscribing the circulation or procurement of, or access to, library materials because of the topic addressed by the library materials or because of the views, ideas, or opinions contained in materials. The Library Governing Body is prohibited from creating policies or procedures that limit or restrict access to library materials, unless the policies or procedures are adopted to preserve the safety or security of the library materials, are time, place, and manner restrictions not based on the content of materials, or are programs that provide for the effective management of the Public Library and its resources to preserve access for all Public Library users.
California Freedom to Read Act prohibits a Library Governing Body from excluding or limiting access to library materials, solely because: (1) the specified protected characteristics of a subject of the library materials, an author of the library materials, the sources of the library materials, or the perceived or intended audience for the library materials; (2) the materials contain inclusive and diverse perspectives; or (3) the materials may include sexual content, unless that content qualifies as obscene under United States Supreme Court precedent.
California Freedom to Read Act states that a person’s right to use a Public Library and its resources shall not be denied or abridged solely because of personal characteristics, age, background, or views. All people, regardless of personal characteristics, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in the materials they borrow from Public Libraries.
(AB 1825 adds Chapter 10 (commencing with section 19800) to Part 11 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code)