Many of you are likely aware that the Tennessee Legislature recently introduced House Bill 2721 and its companion Senate Bill 2896. Dubbed the "Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act," this proposed legislation, as it is currently written, mandates the creation of parental oversight boards to judge the appropriateness of materials for children in each public library. Please know that our TLA Legislative Monitor, Sharon Edwards, and the board are working closely with ALA to monitor the progress of this bill and continually evolve a plan of action should it continue to take shape. Below is a statement on behalf of the TLA Executive Board, which we share with you to inform you of our current stance regarding this bill and will be provided to any media outlets which contact us. Please continue reading past the statement for more information:

 In the past few days, the story of this potential legislation has made its way into at least one local news outlet (in Cookeville) and has begun to circulate on social media. As of this afternoon, the bill was placed on the calendar of the House Cities and Counties Subcommittee for a hearing on February 26. TLA will continue to monitor the outcome of this hearing.

Please know that at this moment, this is a "caption" bill, meaning it has a number, some general language, and a sponsor in each chamber. Although the language of the bill, in its current "generic" state speaks to the oversight of library collections, in talks with one sponsor we know that this bill may, in the end, aim to control the use of library meeting spaces. We will not know what any final language will look like until the bill progresses further--if it does.  At this time, TLA is trying to work within the legislative system to voice our opposition to this proposal in a cohesive and constructive way. As we do not yet know what an actual bill will look like, we are trying to work within, rather than providing publicity for, the proposed measure in hopes the bill will not further progress. 

What can you do? First, you can read the caption bill in its current form here: http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Bill/HB2721.pdf and understand that this is initial language and is not reflective of what a finalized bill will look like. Second, I am working on a statement/letter to the House Cities and Counties Subcommittee ahead of the scheduled hearing to inform them of our opposition of this bill. If you would like to sign the letter, you will have an opportunity to do so electronically. Third, if you talk of this proposed legislation in your own community, I ask that you consider trying to stay on message with us at this time. These are very early days in the process, and until we know exactly what we are up against I would like our collective message to remain positive, open to working with our legislators, and highlighting specifically the point that our state laws already provide this oversight through governing boards at the local level. IF this continues to develop and more nuanced language emerges, we will of course address those issues in more specific ways. Finally, consider attending TLA's upcoming Library Legislative Day in Nashville. And, if you do attend, please make appointments to meet with your own legislators to build/maintain relationships with them. In times like these, such relationships prove paramount. 

I want to ensure every one of our public librarians that TLA takes this proposal very seriously and we are maintaining a close, watchful eye on its development. Our goal as a collective legislative advocate for our libraries right now is to stay cool, collected, and targeted in our messaging--which will evolve if/when things further develop. If you are contacted by a media outlet or hear/see things related to this bill on social media, please reach out to Sharon Edwards, TLA Legislative Monitor at [log in to unmask]. This will help us in monitoring what is happening. 

I know that most of you will experience frustration and outrage at learning of this proposal--trust me, I know. It is, after all, our passion for the freedom of access to information that brings (and keeps) so many of us active and engaged in librarianship. We as a board will work to keep you all informed so we can act, if necessary, as a united front. I hope you will join us in signing the forthcoming letter to the subcommittee as our initial message of opposition. Let's hope the proposal ceases to progress past the subcommittee level. 

Thank you for reading this long email. I look forward to continuing our work in protecting the integrity of Tennessee's libraries with each and every one of you.

Sincerely,

Jill Rael

TLA President