- People are afraid to put certain kinds of books on their shelves.

Books by LGBTQ+ authors, books by Black, indigenous, and people of color.

- [Michelle] Rhode Island-based author Padma Venkatraman has has been writing children's novels for more than 15 years.

Many she says, have been censored in some fashion around the country.

- These are my titles that have been censored.

So "Born Behind Bars," "A Time to Dance," "The Bridge Home" and "Safe Harbor."

- [Michelle] Venkatraman is the co-leader of the Rhode Island chapter of Authors Against Book Bans.

She's pushing for the passage of the Freedom to Read Act, which aims to prohibit library materials from being censored.

- I think the most important thing that the bill will do is to stipulate in Rhode Island that writers have a right to write whatever they wish, that illustrators have a right to illustrate whatever they wish.

- [Michelle] It's a right, Venkatraman says, Rhode Islanders can't take for granted given the rise in book bans nationwide in recent years.

According to the American Library Association, there were 821 attempts to censor library books and materials in 2024, the majority of those demands, 72%, came from pressure groups and government entities.

16% came from parents.

- The most important people that I think are being hurt are their children, because one of the most wonderful things about books is that you can put yourself in someone else's experience for a little while.

- [Michelle] The proposed law requires that all public and school libraries have a policy for requesting that books be reconsidered.

For instance, if a book in the children's section is challenged, at least one librarian who works in that library would review the book's appropriateness and decide if the book needs to be moved to a different section or removed entirely.

Decisions can be appealed.

- Parents are well within their rights to decide what their kids can read.

- [Michelle] Beatrice Pulliam supports the bill.

She's the deputy director at the Providence Public Library and the president of the Rhode Island Library Association.

- The issue is taking an individual's choice and applying it broadly to other children and other folks' ability to access the material.

- [Michelle] The Freedom to Read Act has drawn passionate voices on both sides of the issue.

Many people testified at a state senate hearing last month.

- I'm not quite sure what to call the opponents of this bill, but I will try: close-minded biased, nasty, dark, fascist.

- This bill is nothing more than adopting into law what the agendas of many on the left, including those on this committee, seek, which is absolute legal right to racialize, radicalize, and sexualize Rhode Island's kids via age-inappropriate books and other materials in our libraries.

- [Michelle] At the hearing, most people spoke in favor of the bill, but Senate minority leader Jessica de la Cruz does not support it.

She says there's no issue with the way book challenges are currently handled.

- Republicans are all for freedom to read any book you want, but I would say that when it comes to school-aged children, there needs to be some oversight.

- [Michelle] Under the proposed legislation, authors and librarians, among others, could sue government bodies that enforce censorship.

- What this law does, though, is that if a parent objects and they bring it to the school committee, the school committee can then be sued by the librarian and the librarian could sue them, which is completely possible the librarian would do.

- [Michelle] The bill states damages per censored work would be between 500 to $5,000.

- School committees and towns, cities and towns, are very strapped for cash.

So I don't think that school committees would bring it to a lawsuit or have the lawsuit heard out in court, because they don't have the funds to do so.

- [Michelle] The legislation would also shield librarians from getting sued by someone unhappy with their decision.

- Library budgets are finite, and the idea that a library would then have to pay legal fees to protect staff is just kind of beyond the pale.

- [Michelle] According to a list compiled by the Rhode Island Authors Against Book Bans, 35 books have been challenged across the state since 2020.

Most were unsuccessful.

- We're in a blue state here.

There's a lot of library support.

Everyone has a story of how their library experience shaped them as a child.

So it was surprising, but now we're aware.

- [Michelle] The bill would limit requests to reconsider books from school libraries from students who go to that school or their parents or guardians.

- It does make it more difficult for just some random person to come in with a whole list of books that they haven't read and said, "You need to ban them," which is happening and is happening, including in our state.

- [Michelle] The books that people have tried to ban in communities across Rhode Island include "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult, which follows the unfolding of a school shooting; "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe, a graphic novel that explores the author's gender identity and sexuality; and "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie, it's about a boy who lives on an Indian reservation.

Supporters of the Freedom to Read Act say the local challenges mirror what's happening nationally.

According to the American Library Association, the most common justifications for censorship provided by complainants were false claims of illegal obscenity for minors, inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters or themes, and covering topics of race, racism, equity, and social justice.

Venkatraman says the increase in book challenges nationwide has affected her financially.

- I have seen that after this era of increasing censorship, my school visits have dropped by 50 to 75% compared to the pre-censorship era, if you will.

- And that is strictly in Rhode Island?

- That is all over the country.

- [Michelle] She shared a recent experience with a school in Washington State surrounding her latest novel, "Safe Harbor."

- All of their teachers, all of their staff read the book, loved the book, and then they decided that "Safe Harbor" could not be their One School, One Book read as they had been thinking, because the kids in "Safe Harbor" are immigrants.

- [Michelle] It tells the story of an immigrant girl from India who rescues an injured seal from a Rhode Island beach with a Mexican American boy.

- That is the arc of the story.

- What was the reason they gave you for deciding not to make that their book selection?

- They said the reason was that the kids were immigrants and immigration was part of something that they did not want to discuss.

- Venkatraman says that's an example of soft censorship.

In her case, the book wasn't purchased because there was fear it would be challenged.

According to the Knight Foundation, 2/3 of Americans oppose efforts to restrict books in public schools.

Still 6 in 10 survey respondents saw age appropriateness as a legitimate reason to restrict students' book access.

What is the biggest misconception that you think supporters and opponents have of the other?

- I've never wanted to ban a book.

I don't care how crazy the book is to me, or how offensive.

If it's out there, then people can read it and make a decision on the content that they read.

But I take objection with having content that may not be age-appropriate for children.

- Supporters of the bill, like Venkatraman, say students don't need to read books they or their parents may find objectionable, but that should not prevent another student from accessing it.

- If you don't like the book, shut it.

Don't take it off the shelf for everybody else.

And also, when we talk about gender and sexuality, I mean when a child is, let's say, not getting a talk that is open about sexuality at home, if they go and try to find, whatever, answers to the questions in a book, I think it is so much safer than if they try to find answers on the internet or try to find answers in real life not knowing what they're doing.