EveryLibrary Calls on Arkansas Legislature to Repeal and Replace Act 372

EveryLibrary is calling on the Arkansas General Assembly to repeal and replace Act 372, the 2023 law that has placed librarians, educators, booksellers, readers, and communities across the state under an unnecessary and dangerous censorship regime.

On July 30, 2026, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that had prevented key provisions of Act 372 from being enforced. The decision means that public libraries and booksellers could face criminal charges for the books on their shelves. A violation can carry up to one year in jail.

That is an extraordinary way to regulate access to books.

Arkansas already has laws addressing obscenity and material that is legally harmful to minors. Libraries already have professional collection development policies, reconsideration procedures, and systems that recognize the important role parents play in directing their own children's reading. None of those legitimate interests requires threatening librarians with arrest or forcing libraries to make decisions about constitutionally protected books under the shadow of criminal prosecution.

The Appeal Court ruling also makes clear that Arkansas cannot depend on the courts to solve the fundamental policy problems created by Act 372. The legislature created this law, and the legislature now has a responsibility to fix it.

It is important to note that the original did not challenge the entire Act. While the litigation focused on the criminal provision and the challenge process governing county and municipal public libraries, Act 372 also imposed a separate process affecting school library materials. That portion of the law was not enjoined by the lawsuit and has been part of the working environment for Arkansas school librarians since the law took effect in 2023.

We urge legislators to work with librarians, educators, parents, booksellers, constitutional experts, and community leaders during the 2027 session on legislation that repeals Act 372 and replaces it with an approach grounded in the Constitution, parental responsibility, professional library practice, and the rights of every Arkansas reader. 

EveryLibrary stands with Arkansas librarians, school librarians, library boards, booksellers, readers, and right to read advocates as they work toward the repeal and replacement of Act 372. Protecting children and protecting the right to read are not opposing goals. A well-written law can do both.

Please consider making a donation to EveryLibrary's
Rapid Response Fund today at https://www.everylibrary.org/arkansas.