I’m really excited to share a guest piece this week. Siena Oristaglio is here to talk about one of the important projects happening a Library Futures that’s meant to help library workers think through the realities of book censorship in 2020s America. For library workers, Library Futures is a vital resources with insights and tools that explore the intersections of libraries, technology, and policy. Readers who aren’t library workers will appreciate the work happening via Library Futures, too–the organization has been fighting for your rights to fair access to digital resources in libraries nationwide.
In addition to passing this platform to a guest this week, I’m also giving it space to stand alone. There is no news roundup this week. It will return next week, April 10, and it will include links from this week within it.
Without further ado, Siena.
*
An Interactive Approach Helps Librarians Protect Intellectual Freedom
Imagine you’re working the circulation desk at your public library. One day, as you go about your regular work, you notice someone causing a stir in the library. They appear to be livestreaming while harassing other patrons about their book choices, yelling that the books contain obscene content. A parent and child come up to you at the circulation desk to complain about this patron’s behavior, saying it is making them uncomfortable. It’s your move. What do you do? Do you ignore the person causing a scene, assuming she will ultimately quiet down? Calmly approach her and explain library policies? Approach her angrily and chastise her for harassing other library patrons?
Imagine later that same day, another patron approaches the circulation desk. He appears incensed. He holds up several books, claims that they contain inaccurate and harmful information, and demands that they be removed from the library immediately. It’s your move again. Do you ignore him and hope he leaves the desk? Do you immediately print out a book challenge form for him to fill out? Do you consult your library’s collection development team? What do you do?
Both scenarios described above are common encounters for our nation’s working librarians. Last year, the American Library Association (ALA) reported 2,452 unique book titles challenged across the country in 2024—a number that was likely even higher as the organization estimated that fewer than 20% of challenges were reported to their offices.1 2 Incidents of First Amendment audits, where individuals film or livestream in library spaces and sometimes harass patrons while proclaiming their constitutional rights, have also increased in recent years.3 As we await new statistics from 2025, one thing is clear: pressure groups and government officials have continued to push library censorship agendas. Over 40 bills targeting library materials were introduced by lawmakers in just the first three months of 2026, with several aiming to hold librarians criminally liable for failing to censor books (see Georgia’s Senate Bill 74 and Iowa’s House File 2309, among others).4 5 6 7 Our country’s public librarians find themselves at the center of a cultural battleground, leading to feelings of fear and anxiety, and resulting in increased self-censorship within the profession.9 10 In a recent survey, for example, 75% of librarians said they were concerned or very concerned about current legislation affecting libraries in their state.8
Given this environment, it is critical that public librarians know their rights and have access to resources that prepare them for increasingly difficult work situations. Library Futures has released a web-based game to help librarians skillfully handle censorship attempts and conflict in their libraries. Challenges to intellectual freedom in public libraries commonly play out via direct confrontations with patrons. Imagine IF: The Game allows library workers to roleplay these situations and practice de-escalating them. A recent study on censorship in libraries concluded that library workers of all kinds stand to benefit from additional training, resources, and planning around how to manage censorship attempts.11 Imagine IF was developed as one such resource, and Library Futures—a leading organization intersection of libraries, technology, policy, and public access to information—hopes to promote skills that are vital to the protection of intellectual freedom in library environments.
Intellectual freedom is defined by the ALA as “the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction.”12 ALA president Sam Helmick states, “Our ability to navigate the world of content requires context and curation. That’s what libraries do. Without intellectual freedom, they cannot continue to do this work.” Imagine IF was inspired by a presentation that Helmick created in 2015 while working as the Intellectual Freedom Chair of the Iowa Library Association. Since then, Helmick has delivered the presentation many times, receiving positive feedback from librarians each time. When Library Futures approached Helmick to turn the presentation into a web game, they agreed immediately. “It’s great because you can experience these interactions without paying the tuition of having the actual in-person experience,” Helmick remarks. “It’s a storytelling way of allowing you to play it out… And storytelling creates empathy and understanding which then creates support.”
The game begins with a review of the Library Bill of Rights and then provides two choose-your-own-adventure scenarios that players can explore.13 In one scenario, an influencer livestreams while harassing other patrons about the inappropriateness of their book choices. In another, the librarian encounters an irate patron demanding that books be removed from the library. With comic-book characters created by illustrator Kenny Keil, Imagine IF provides a lighthearted environment within which librarians can mentally prepare for encounters that may otherwise lead to panic or overwhelm. Although the game playfully encourages players to “choose chaos,” the goal for each scenario is to de-escalate the interaction, practice patron interaction skills, and build relationships with community members in the process. The game aims to help librarians strike a balance between ensuring patrons that they are being heard while also protecting intellectual freedom principles.
Imagine IF is live now on Library Futures’ website. As an open educational resource (OER), it is free to use or remix, and those within the field and beyond are encouraged to do so. Ultimately, there is no question that public librarians need support as they work to protect intellectual freedom and facilitate access to information. As ALA writes in their Freedom to Read statement, “pressures toward conformity present the danger of limiting the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend.”14 Creative problem-solving is one avenue through which those who care about libraries and librarians persist in uplifting these critical values. Imagine IF is here to help.
 |
Sources
1 Editors of ProCon. (2026, February 10). Book bans debate. In Encyclopedia Britannica. (https://www.britannica.com/procon/book-bans-debate
2 American Library Association. (n.d.) Book ban data. https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data
3 Balzer, C. (2022, January 3). Uptick in first amendment audits. American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2022/01/03/uptick-in-first-amendment-audits-2/
4 Wang, C. (2025, December 15). US librarians tackle ‘manufactured crisis’ of book bans to protect LGBTQ+ rights. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/15/us-librarianbook-bans-lgbtq-rights
5 ACLU Georgia. (2026, February 9). Senate Bill 74. https://www.acluga.org/legislation/senate-bill-74/
6 Scott, C. E. (2026, March 2). The Iowa legislature’s 2026 agenda: locking up librarians. Iowa Journal of Gender, Race, & Justice. https://jgrj.law.uiowa.edu/news/2026/03/iowa-legislatures-2026-agenda-locking-librarians
7 American Library Association. (n.d.). Adverse legislation in the states. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/adverse-legislation-states
8 Stein, Z. G. (2025). Politics and collection development: Behaviors in library collecting based on political climates. Southeastern Libraries, 73(1), p. 43-56. http://doi.org/10.62915/0038-3686.2126
9 Cochran, L. L. (2025, October 7). As book bans decline, concerns mount over librarian and teacher self-censoring. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5541137-book-bans-decline-self-censorship-rises/
10 Pitts, L. E. (2025). “It’s a miserable, scary, stressful time to be a librarian”: Attitudes and opinions of Alabama library workers regarding intellectual freedom and censorship (part one of a three-part study). Public Library Quarterly, 1–19. http://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2025.2603134
11 Salmsan, J., Hebert, S., and Burns, E. (2025). Texas library workers on censorship in the state: Implications for Ppactice for LGBTQIA+ collections. College & Research Libraries, 86(5), p. 777–796. https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/article/view/26936/34833
12 American Library Association. (n.d.) Intellectual freedom and censorship Q & A. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/censorship/faq
13 American Library Association. (n.d.) Library bill of rights. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
14 American Library Association. (n.d.). Freedom to read statement. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/freedomreadstatement
*
Siena Oristaglio is a Master of Library and Information Science student at Indiana University, specializing in digital curation and archives management. Siena is passionate about digital collections and digital preservation. She is pursuing a Digital Archives Specialist certificate from the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and is currently researching the spread of public health information through online spaces. She is based in New York.
Library Futures, housed at the NYU Law Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy, is a leading organization at the intersection of libraries, technology, policy, and public access to information.
Bengali (Bangladesh) · 
English (United States) ·