Item 6: Draft Banned Books Recommendation — original pdf

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COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION College Student Commission Recommendation Number: (2025MMDD-XXX) (XXX is the agenda item number): Designating Austin’s Public Libraries as “Book Sanctuaries” WHEREAS, the State of Texas has routinely been a national leader in the number of books banned from libraries and school curriculums throughout the state; and WHEREAS, as of October 2024, PEN America found 538 instances of book bans across Texas; and WHEREAS, the Texas Legislature passed the READER Act, HB 900, during the 88th Legislative Session, which requires school libraries to remove books based on vague standards; and WHEREAS, across the nation, book bans predominantly impact books written by or featuring characters who are members of minority groups or the LGBTQIA+ community; and WHEREAS, books that have been banned throughout the state overwhelmingly deal with topics such as race, gender, and sexuality, as well as literature critical of authoritarian governments; and WHEREAS, access to knowledge and creative works, especially those that the government finds objectionable, is an essential facet of a free society; and WHEREAS, access to varying points of view is an essential aspect of higher education, where students of different backgrounds ought to be free to be exposed to diversity of thought. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the College Student Commission recommends that the Austin City Council designate Austin’s public libraries as “Book Sanctuaries” and guarantee that the city’s libraries will continue to offer for public access books that have been banned in K-12 and higher education curriculums or otherwise removed from libraries throughout Texas. Date of Approval: _____________________________ Record of the vote: Attest: _____________________________________________