The Idaho legislature passed House Bill 710 last year, giving Idahoans the ability to request content deemed quote “harmful to minors” be age restricted to adults-only.
The bill has been challenged in federal court by private schools, publishing houses, and the Donnelly Public Library District since it was implemented a year ago. But the restrictions are still in effect.
For the last five years, Rediscovered Books and the writing organization The Cabin have been giving away copies of books that have made it onto banned book lists.
Co-owner Rebecca Crosswhite said the Read Freely program began in 2021 as a response to nationwide book bans.
Things ramped up when the Nampa School District removed 22 books from school library shelves in 2022. That summer, the Read Freely program gave out copies of the literature Nampa removed.
“It's not getting better. It's not swinging back yet. And so we need to continue to fight for our rights to read whatever we want to read,” said Crosswhite.
This year, publisher Macmillan pitched in. They donated more than 200 copies of the newly released novel Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray.
Other books picked this year include the Serviceberry, Lone Women and Trans History: A Graphic Novel. They’ve all been restricted or banned in other states’ libraries across the country.
Four thousand books have been handed out since the program began. Crosswhite hopes this will help Idaho readers expand their perspectives.
“If you dive a little deeper and get into some of these stories, you are able to see and have that empathy for the people that are not like you and that you've never even maybe seen or interacted with,” said Crosswhite.
Supporters of the state law say libraries have given minors access to materials they call “harmful” and “pornographic.”
