ACADEMIC LIBRARY MANAGEMENT POLICIES

SB0045

SENATE BILL 45

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Harold Pope
and
Antoinette Sedillo Lopez
and
Kathleen Cates

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION; REQUIRING PUBLIC
POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO ESTABLISH POLICIES
REGARDING THE MANAGEMENT OF LIBRARIES AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF
LIBRARY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES; PROHIBITING RETALIATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
A new section of Chapter 21, Article 1 NMSA
1978 is enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] LIBRARY PROTECTION--POLICIES, STANDARDS
AND PROHIBITIONS.--

A. As used in this section:

(1) "library resource" means a printed,
digital or electronic book or other educational media and
includes:

(a) a magazine, newspaper, pamphlet or
slide deck;

(b) an online reference or periodical
database, a streaming service or computer software;

(c) a microfiche or microfilm;

(d) a film, a filmstrip, an audio tape,
a video tape, a vinyl record, a compact disc or a digital audio
or video file;

(e) a poster, a display or an exhibit;
and

(f) other printed or unprinted materials
and library programming; and

(2) "library staff member" includes faculty
members, student employees, volunteers and other personnel
assigned to duties in a library of a public post-secondary
educational institution.

B. In the control and management of libraries and
the administration of library programs and services, the boards
of regents and governing boards of public post-secondary
educational institutions shall prohibit discrimination against
the author, content and intended audience of a library resource
based on disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, gender expression, family
composition, religion, age, national origin, tribal affiliation
or ancestry and shall prohibit harassment of the author or
intended audience of a library resource.

C. A library resource may be removed from the
permanent collection of a library at a public post-secondary
educational institution only in accordance with the following:

(1) the board of regents or governing board of
a public post-secondary educational institution shall adopt a
uniform process and uniform standards for the removal,
restriction or discontinuation of a library resource based on
recommendations from the institution's library faculty and
administrators;

(2) a request to remove, restrict or
discontinue a library resource from an institution's library
may be made only by a student matriculating at the institution;

(3) a library resource shall not be considered
for removal, restriction or discontinuation more than once in a
two-year period, at minimum;

(4) when a library resource is considered for
removal, the resource shall be reviewed as a whole and the
adopted standards shall be applied to the resource as a whole;

(5) a final determination of a request to
remove, restrict or discontinue a library resource shall be in
writing, available to the public and include the standards used
in making the determination and how those standards were
applied to the library resource at issue;

(6) a library resource subject to a request
for removal, restriction or discontinuation shall not be
removed, restricted or discontinued until a final determination
is made; and

(7) the provisions of this section shall not
apply to routine maintenance and deaccession of an
institution's library's collection.

D. No later than September 1, 2026, the boards of
regents and governing boards of public post-secondary
educational institutions shall adopt written policies that
reflect the provisions of this section, including written
policies for the acquisition, retention, display and use of
library resources and for the maintenance and deaccession of
the library collections of the institutions. The written
policies shall comply with the first amendment to the United
States constitution or Article 2, Section 17 of the
constitution of New Mexico concerning freedom of speech,
whichever is more protective of speech.

E. A library staff member shall not be subject to
termination, demotion, discipline or retaliation for refusing
to remove, restrict or discontinue a library resource before a
final determination to remove, restrict or discontinue that
library resource has been made in accordance with this section
or for making decisions that the library staff member believes,
in good faith, comply with this section and the respective
institution's policies."

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