U.S. judge blocks Arkansas state law allowing library censorship

HOUSTON, July 29 (Xinhua) -- A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked southern U.S. state Arkansas from exerting a law that would allow criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing "harmful" materials to children.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which was set to take effect Aug. 1.

Under the law, a new criminal penalty can be imposed on anyone who makes "harmful" materials available to minors, putting librarians and bookstore employees in danger of being charged with a Class A misdemeanor, the Arkansas Times reported.

Furthermore, it establishes a uniform procedure for people to challenge materials in a library's collection based on "appropriateness." If a library rejects such a challenge, its decision could then be appealed to a local body of elected officials, such as a city council or county quorum court, it said.

Last year, the number of attempts to ban or restrict access to books across the United States, especially in Republican-led states, was the highest in the past 20 years, AP reported.