analyzed over 1,000 book challenges and found that they were filed by just 11 people.
There is a growing consensus that Utah’s “Sensitive Materials” law has created problems, not solutions. Back in November 2022, Alpine School Board President Mark Clementmeeting that Alpine already had a book reconsideration process that worked well. But since the passage of the law, Clement noted that Alpine had to deal with police showing up at the library because a parent complained that a librarian was distributing pornography to children.
The good news is we have a roadmap for collaboration. In 2022-2023, librarians worked in partnership with legislators on a number of issues, including the drafting of a reasonable and workable background check bill for public libraries. We encourage our state lawmakers to continue this collaborative approach and work with librarians and teachers to develop a well-crafted law that doesn’t lead to nonsensical challenges or contribute to a culture of mistrust.