Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a first-of-its-kind bill into law on Monday which eliminates book bans, requiring public libraries in the state to ensure they offer a diverse range of materials.

House Bill 2789 obligates all libraries to adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights. This standard prohibits limiting access to materials because of the “origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation,” mandates offering literature covering all points of view on an issue, and calls for libraries to ensure “privacy and confidentiality in [patrons’] library use.” The text of the bill emphasizes that “materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.” Ultimately, the legislation protects libraries from any attempts to restrict or ban certain materials from its collection.

At the signing, Pritzker stated, “Everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in the books they read, the art they see, the history they learn. In Illinois, we are showing the nation what it really looks like to stand up for liberty.”

The bill amends the Illinois Library System Act, which ensures every resident of the state has access to library services and materials. Specifically, the state recognized it had the duty to promote public education, so it established its public library system to provide educational benefits for people of all ages.

The Illinois Senate passed the bill with a vote of 39 to 19, while the House passed it 69 to 39. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias helped draft this legislation, stating, “This scourge of censorship has a chilling effect on our democracy. These efforts have nothing to do with books. Instead, they are about ideas that certain individuals disagree with and believe no one should think, or be allowed to think.”

The American Library Association published a report showing 2022 had the highest number of attempts to ban or restrict library materials in the past 20 years. States continue to pursue book bans, with librarians from Missouri recently suing the state over its public library ban on “sexually explicit materials.”