Blue Willow Bookstore has joined a lawsuit against the state over H.B. 900, which requires sellers to rate every book for depictions or references to sex.
Valerie Koehler is no stranger to giving book recommendations. As the longtime owner of Blue Willow Bookshop in West Houston, readers frequently turn to her for advice on what to read next. Especially parents, she said, who are often looking for guidance on the age-appropriateness of various titles.
But what the Texas government is now compelling Koehler to do—as well as nearly every other bookseller in the state—is something that could bankrupt the already fragile business of independent bookstores. House Bill 900, enacted during this state’s most recent legislative session and set to go into effect Sept. 1, requires all books vendors who supply to Texas school districts to rate every book that they sell based on whether it contains depictions or references to sex. That includes private vendors who work solely with schools, as well as public bookstores.
“It’s untenable,” Koehler said. “You cannot possibly expect a book vendor to rate every single book.”
This is just the latest event in what has become a volatile culture war around books and public education in Texas. In addition to the highly controversial state takeover of the Houston School District, the city of Huntsville recently allowed a privately owned, for-profit company to take over its public library system among backlash over attempts to ban certain titles. Even before H.B. 900 was enacted, Texas led the nation in banning books from public schools, typically targeting books that deal with race, sex, and gender expression. But booksellers, Koehler said, “have always stayed out of that.”
“It’s not our place,” she said. “We’re apolitical.”
But now, Blue Willow is one of two bookstores that have recently joined a suit against the state to try to stop the law from going into effect. Along with BookPeople in Austin, Blue Willow is also joined by a coalition that includes ??the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
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