The Texas Freedom to Read Project just dropped a big report on the state of book bans in Texas. This comes in the wake of advocates for the freedom to …
How To Be An Informed Voter for Libraries and Books: Book Censorship News, October 16, 2026
By Kelly Jensen, Oct 16, 2026
As we more on from last week’s Banned Books Week, here’s your reminder that a week of “celebrating” banned books isn’t enough. It’s essential to now take that passion for intellectual freedom, the rights of readers, the rights of authors, and the need to protect institutions of democracy further by taking direct action.
Libraries are on the ballot this November. Libraries have always been on the ballot, but with the continued rise of book censorship and attacks on these institutions of democracy, it is more crucial than ever to show up at the polls–and it’s also vital to tell everyone else who has an election to do the same. This year’s midterms are crucial, and it’s become clear just how crucial by the escalation of attacks on books by the authoritarian regime–see the calls for accelerated and proactive bans from the Texas Lieutenant Governor and those by the DeSantis-appointed Commissioner of Education in Florida.
Beyond the top-of-the-ballot offices, two main ballot matters relate to public libraries and schools this fall. First, there will be elections in several states and municipalities for school and library board members. Who sits on these boards matters tremendously. Folks who care about public libraries and schools will seek to improve these institutions and ensure that they represent the whole of a community. Folks who have an agenda seek these roles as an opportunity to push partisan agenda, including book bans, wholesale bans on topics available in the library, budget cuts, and more.
Second, there will be numerous elections related to library funding. As we move through an era where library budgets are being pilfered for police (see here, from July); where states are itching to cut property taxes as a means of defunding public libraries (see here); where local officials who have targeted libraries for years have proposed significant funding cuts to the library (see Saline County, Arkansas); and where partisan politicians are changing how states fund their libraries (see Ohio), voting to sustain or increase library budgets is crucial to their survival. Just as the costs for all of us have gone up on everything, the same is happening in libraries–especially as it relates to digital materials.
Find Out What’s On Your Ballot
Here’s your reminder to get to know what is on your local ballot, how to determine the best candidate for office, and then what to do after you don your “I voted” sticker. The suggestions here will take some time, so carve out an hour or so before you go to vote. You can do these things all at once or break them up into chunks.
- Not every state is currently voting in elections for school boards or library boards. In some cases, this is because those are appointed rather than elected positions. The first thing to do is figure out how the process works in your community. Navigate to your local school board’s website and your local library’s website and find the page about their board.
- Information about the process should be readily available there, but if it is not, you may need to locate that information on your city or county’s web page. Regardless of whether these positions are up for vote this year, knowing how the process works in your community is important.
- View a sample ballot for your community. You can find these in many places, including your county clerk’s office website where they host information about elections. You may also be able to find information at VOTE411 or Ballotpedia.
Continue/Read Original Article: https://bookriot.com/how-to-be-an-informed-voter-for-libraries-and-books/
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