A legislative effort to address issues with Iowa public libraries moved through subcommittee on Tuesday morning. House Study Bill 720 would require public libraries to enforce age-appropriate standards, allow parents access to minor children’s borrowing records and shift governance authority from library boards to elected city councils.
The bill would:
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Require libraries to prohibit minors from accessing materials deemed not “age-appropriate.”
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Define “age-appropriate” as suitable to a child’s developmental capacity and exclude materials containing descriptions or depictions of sex as defined in Iowa law.
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Allow parents or guardians to access their minor child’s borrowing records.
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Tie state funding eligibility to compliance with these standards.
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Transfer administrative and policy authority from library boards of trustees to elected city councils beginning July 1, 2026.
Supporters argue the bill strengthens parental rights, increases accountability and ensures taxpayer-funded libraries are not providing minors access to sexually explicit material. Opponents claim the bill overreaches, imposes heavy administrative burdens and removes local control.
Keenan Crow of One Iowa focused on the logistics of reviewing library materials.
“The Des Moines Public Library has about 552,000 books on its shelves,” Crow said. Estimating an average of 100 pages per book and full-time work hours, he said, “it would take approximately 442 full-time employees reading every single minute of their work week in order to actually complete that review sufficiently.”
“I don’t see any additional money in this bill in order to accomplish this,” he added. “I think that that is asking quite a bit of the libraries and is not likely to actually have the intended effect.”
Terry Anderson, a retired state project manager, questioned the cost and implementation.
“You’re talking about an unbelievable amount of money for guidelines that are given from where? Who provides these guidelines? Where do they come from?” he asked.
Several public library directors warned that the bill would damage library operations.
One Iowa public librarian argued the bill “overreaches and takes away local control.”
“The restriction of access component is quite honestly unconstitutional,” the librarian said, adding that Iowa libraries already follow the Miller test for obscenity. “There is not a single public library in Iowa that holds any content that is considered obscene by legal precedent.”
Cathy Van Maanen, director of the Huxley Public Library, described strong opposition from her local board.
“They were slightly appalled,” she said.
Chris Stoner, director of the Hiawatha Public Library, rejected the premise that children are being exposed to harmful content.
“In my seven years of working the checkout desk at a library, not once have I had a child try to check out an item that I wouldn’t be comfortable handing to my own kids,” Stoner said. “Kids want to read their cat and ninja books, not wander through the adult section looking for spicy content.”
The Iowa League of Cities registered undecided.
“There are some city councils that appreciate what we’re bringing forward,” a representative said, citing budget oversight concerns, but acknowledged “many local governments appreciate the ability to work with their board of trustees.”
Leslie Noble, speaking on behalf of the Iowa Library Association, argued the bill removes local control.
“When a similar bill was introduced in 2024, not a single one of the 214 surveyed elected or appointed officials indicated that they were in favor of this measure,” Noble said.
She also warned that providing access to minor library records could create legal complications in complex custodial arrangements.
Democrat Rep. Larry McBurney voiced strong opposition during the hearing. McBurney argued that allowing parents or guardians access to minor library records could create risks.
“This includes non-custodial parents. This includes parents who may have restraining orders,” he said. “There is no definition to ensure that children are actually being protected from the people that they need to be protected from.”
Under the bill, libraries would still maintain adult collections, but minors would be restricted from accessing materials that do not meet the defined “age-appropriate” standard.
The bill advanced to the full Local Government Committee.
FYI, The Sioux Center Library has 17 titles co authored by Brendan DuBois who was sentenced in March 2025 to 3 1/2-7 years in prison for possession of child sexual abuse materials. Some other libraries have as many or more by him. Libraries exist on a pedestal cloaked with autonomy which make them untouchable by patrons.