By Barbara Taormina-For the North Star Reporter
The state’s Freedom to Read law was a centerpiece of last Wednesday’s Free to Read Community Celebration at Richards Memorial Library.
The event, held the afternoon and evening of Oct. 28, featured programming celebrating the freedom to read and highlighting the state’s recently enacted protections for free expression.
The event was organized by Adult Services Librarian Joseph Morra of the Richards Memorial Library and state Rep. Adam Scanlon, D-North Attleborough.
Mahogany Brown, one of the authors of “Woke: A Young Poet’s call to Justice,” recorded a special video welcome message for the event. Brown said open access to reading encourages young readers to be curious and ask questions. She stressed young readers should have the ability to choose books freely.
The library also showed the documentary, “Banned Together: The Fight against Censorship,” which tells the story of a group of high school students in Beaufort, South Carolina, and their fight to replace 97 books which had been pulled from the shelves at their school libraries. The film also highlighted the criticism and harassment aimed at librarians and teachers when books are challenged.
The Free to Read Celebration included a panel discussion moderated by local poet Dave Vecchioli that featured Debby Conrad, a member of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, Kristin Pickering, a reading teacher at North Attleborough Middle School and Scanlon. The panelists shared their views on books and the personal and intellectual growth gained through reading.
“When people try to limit the books kids have access to, it limits their life choices,” said Conrad.
When discussing book bans, Pickering asked repeatedly, “What are you afraid of?”
The panelists also praised An Act Regarding Free Expression, legislation authored by Scanlon and signed into law by Gov. Maura Healey in August. The signing marked the culmination of an effort closely tied to the removal of a poetry anthology from an elementary school library in North Attleborough following a single complaint.
In 2023 “Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice” was removed from the Martin Elementary School library. The book, which addresses topics including social justice, discrimination and identity, was taken off the shelves after a parent’s complaint without public notice or a formal School Committee vote.
The decision did not become widely known until months later, prompting community debate over how challenges to school library materials should be handled. The book was eventually returned to the library, and the School Committee revised the district’s policy for future challenges.
“I’m thrilled by the legislation and its protections and review processes. I can’t say enough about the lawmakers who hammered it out,” said Conrad. “We have something to fall back on now.”
Throughout the afternoon and evening, the library also offered youth activities and a banned books display, which included “Bluest Eye,” “The Kite Runner,” “The Hate U Give,” “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” and “Dear Martin.”
“We want people to enjoy reading, for whatever purpose they want: education, enjoyment or enlightenment,” Morra said previously. “Having access to books and printed material that may inspire new ideas and/or creativity is crucial to a thoughtful, healthy community.”
In 2025, the American Library Association (ALA) reported 4,235 books were challenged at libraries across the country. According to the ALA, roughly 40 percent of the challenges “represent the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color.”
The ALA also reported that 92 percent of the challenges were generated by groups or government officials rather than parents, teachers or students.
October is Banned Books Month, celebrating the freedom to read and the role libraries play in providing access to books, information and ideas, according to the event announcement.