Arkansas's public libraries are about to be told: restrict what kids can read, or lose your state money.

On Friday, November 13, the Arkansas State Library Board meets at 10 a.m. in Little Rock to vote on rules that tie state funding for public libraries to keeping certain books away from young readers, the Arkansas Times reported.

Every member of that board was picked by Sarah Sanders. A 2025 state law overhauled the board, and Governor Sanders appointed all six of its current members, according to the Arkansas Times and Little Rock Public Radio.

What the rules would do

Under the proposal, as the reporting describes it:

• Anyone 16 or younger would need a parent's permission to check out material labeled "adult" or "sexually explicit."
• Books deemed "sexually explicit" would be moved to a section only people 18 and older can use.
• "Sexually explicit" includes material "containing descriptions or images of human genitalia," Little Rock Public Radio reported. The Arkansas Times pointed out that this would sweep in art books with nudes and books that explain puberty to kids.
• Libraries that don't comply lose their state funding, which pays for things like children's programs and community events.

Little Rock Public Radio reported that the rules don't actually say how any of this would be enforced. Library directors have said, according to the station's interview with Arkansas Advocate reporter Tess Vrbin, that rearranging shelves would be hard — some libraries are a single room — and that not all checkout software can even set age limits.

A board that kept saying no — until it was replaced

This idea isn't new. In May 2024, the old State Library Board voted 6-1 against a motion to withhold state money from libraries that let minors reach material the motion called sexually explicit. Only the member who proposed it, former Republican state senator Jason Rapert, voted yes.

Then the legislature passed a law that overhauled the board, and Sanders filled every seat. The new board is the one that drew up these rules.

Librarians could also face criminal charges

The vote comes on top of Act 372 of 2023, a law that can make library employees criminally liable for handing out material deemed "obscene" or "harmful to minors." The Arkansas Times reported that a federal appeals court said this summer that the law could take effect for public libraries.

The free-speech group PEN America has warned that the new rules could severely limit young people's access to books. Librarians call the plan censorship and say it violates the First Amendment, Little Rock Public Radio reported.

Not the only Republican governor doing this

Texas shows where this road leads. Under a law Greg Abbott signed, Texas became No. 1 in book bans, with more than 8,100 in one school year.

Neither the Arkansas Times nor Little Rock Public Radio reported any statement from Sanders about the rules. She chose every member of the board that wrote them.

The short version

Sarah Sanders appointed every member of Arkansas's State Library Board after a 2025 law overhauled it. On November 13 that board votes on rules that would make public libraries keep "sexually explicit" material — defined to include any image of human genitalia — from readers 16 and under without a parent's permission, or lose their state funding.

Source

• Arkansas Times, State Library Board to vote Friday on rules tying funding to severe censorship, November 12, 2026