No right to information at public libraries, 5th Circuit rules

A Texas public library was found not to have violated patrons’ free speech rights by removing 17 books based on their content, as ruled by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Friday. The decision, made by a 10-7 majority, overturned previous court rulings that had deemed the removal of the books by the Llano County Library System in Texas as erroneous. The lawsuit was filed in 2022 by seven library patrons challenging the removal of books on topics such as race, gender, and sexuality, as well as some children’s books containing nudity. The appellate court panel dismissed the free speech claims against the library, stating that patrons do not have a right to receive information challenging a library’s book removal decisions. The majority opinion also declared that the library’s collection choices are considered government speech and are not subject to First Amendment free speech challenges. The dissenting opinion disagreed, citing the importance of public libraries in providing access to a broad range of information and ideas and expressing concern over the politically motivated removal of books to suppress certain ideas.