MADISON – Today, the Committee on Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, and Children and Families will hold a public hearing on SB597 and SB598 which would require public and school libraries to notify parents within 24 hours anytime their children under the age of 16 check out materials. Senate Democratic Leader Melissa Agard (D-Madison) released the following statement on these bills:

“Parents in Wisconsin already have the ability to see what their child is checking out from the library—but this proposed legislation would discourage kids from exploring all the perspectives and stories that a library has to offer.

“How hypocritical that Wisconsin Republicans, the party of ‘small government’, want to ban books and know what every individual is checking out from the library. This Orwellian inspired overreach is chilling and intimidates our librarians and educators under the facade of parental rights. Senate Democrats do not support these GOP efforts to stifle learning and limit access to information.”

Previously, Wisconsin Republicans have put forward legislation (SB 10) that would ban certain books based on their content. This follows a national trend of Republican legislators aiming to restrict material they deem offensive.