Public Libraries Saw 92 Percent Increase In Number of Titles Targeted for Censorship Over The Previous Year; American Library Association (ALA) Press Release, March 14, 2024

American Library Association (ALA) Press Release; Public Libraries Saw 92 Percent Increase In Number of Titles Targeted for Censorship Over The Previous Year

"The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by the American Library Association (ALA). The new numbers released today show efforts to censor 4,240 unique book titles* in schools and libraries. This tops the previous high from 2022, when 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship. 

ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources in 2023. Four key trends emerged from the data gathered from 2023 censorship reports: 

• Pressure groups in 2023 focused on public libraries in addition to targeting school libraries. The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92 percent over the previous year; school libraries saw an 11 percent increase.
• Groups and individuals demanding the censorship of multiple titles, often dozens or hundreds at a time, drove this surge.  
• Titles representing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals made up 47 percent of those targeted in censorship attempts. 
• There were attempts to censor more than 100 titles in each of these 17 states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

“The reports from librarians and educators in the field make it clear that the organized campaigns to ban books aren’t over, and that we must all stand together to preserve our right to choose what we read,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “Each demand to ban a book is a demand to deny each person’s constitutionally protected right to choose and read books that raise important issues and lift up the voices of those who are often silenced.  By joining initiatives like Unite Against Book Bans and other organizations that support libraries and schools, we can end this attack on essential community institutions and our civil liberties."

ALA will unveil its highly anticipated list of the top 10 most challenged books in the U.S. on Monday, April 8, which is Right to Read Day of National Library Week, along with its full State of America's Libraries Report.

"Every challenge to a library book is an attack on our freedom to read. The books being targeted again focus on LGBTQ+ and people of color. Our communities and our country are stronger because of diversity. Libraries that reflect their communities' diversity promote learning and empathy that some people want to hide or eliminate,” said ALA President Emily Drabinski. “Libraries are vital institutions to each and every community in this country, and library professionals, who have dedicated their lives to protecting our right to read, are facing threats to their employment and well-being." 

In response to the surge of book challenges and efforts to restrict access to information, ALA launched Unite Against Book Bans, a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship. The coalition will mark its second anniversary during National Library Week.

For more information about ALA and its intellectual freedom efforts, visit www.ala.org. For a breakdown for censorship challenges by state visit this heat map."

Florida settles lawsuit after challenge to ‘don’t say gay’ law; Associated Press via The Guardian, March 11, 2024

Associated Press via The Guardian ; Florida settles lawsuit after challenge to ‘don’t say gay’ law

"Under the terms of the settlement, the Florida board of education will send instructions to every school district saying the Florida law does not prohibit discussing LGBTQ+ people, nor prevent anti-bullying rules on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or disallow Gay-Straight Alliance groups. The settlement also spells out that the law is neutral – meaning what applies to LGBTQ+ people also applies to heterosexual people – and that it doesn’t apply to library books not being used for instruction in the classroom.

The law also doesn’t apply to books with incidental references to LGBTQ+ characters or same-sex couples, “as they are not instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity any more than a math problem asking students to add bushels of apples is instruction on apple farming”, according to the settlement.

“What this settlement does, is, it re-establishes the fundamental principal, that I hope all Americans agree with, which is every kid in this country is entitled to an education at a public school where they feel safe, their dignity is respected and where their families and parents are welcomed,” Roberta Kaplan, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said in an interview."

The librarian who couldn’t take it anymore; The Washington Post, November 11, 2023

Ruby Cramer, The Washington Post; The librarian who couldn’t take it anymore

"When she had decided to become a librarian almost 10 years ago, it was for a simple reason: She loved to read. Now she watched as the work she did at a high school in Central Florida became part of a national debate. There were fights going on over democracy and fascism. There were parents and school board members arguing on social media and in meetings. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wasn’t just passing laws but using them to run for president. To Tania, the pure act of reading was becoming more and more political, and as a result, she had to spend much of her time reviewing the books on her shelves — not to suggest one to a student but to ask herself whether the content was too mature for the teenagers at her school. Then she had moved on to the books in each teacher’s classroom, because as of this year, the state considered those books to be part of the library, too.

All of this took time. The librarian’s job was expanding even as she felt it was shrinking to a series of rote tasks: She would copy a book’s ISBN number into a peer-review database. She would decide whether to mark it with the thumb-size red sticker, provided to her by the district, that read “M” for “mature.” If a book wasn’t listed in a database, she would review it by hand, and then she would start again with the next book. In those hours, the job became a series of keystrokes, and she began to feel more like a censor than a librarian...

Somewhere else in the school, interviews were going on for her replacement. Three candidates were coming in. The principal had asked Tania to send him interview questions. She emailed her district supervisor for ideas and received a document in her inbox, the list of questions they kept on file.

“What do you see as the role of the librarian in the school setting?”

“What kind of library attracts students, staff and parents?"

Nothing about the laws, nothing about reviewing books, nothing about book bans at all. Tania scrolled through the questions and added one more. “What is your stance on Censorship?” she wrote, though she had no way of knowing whether it would be asked, or how the next librarian might answer."

Federal judge blocks enforcement of Iowa’s book ban law; Iowa Public Radio, December 29, 2023

 Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio ; Federal judge blocks enforcement of Iowa’s book ban law

"A federal judge has blocked the state of Iowa from enforcing major portions of an education law, SF 496, which has caused school districts to pull hundreds of books from library shelves.

The temporary injunction prevents enforcement of a ban on books with sexually explicit content, which the judge in the case said likely violates the First Amendment. It also blocks a section barring instruction relating to sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary school, which he called “void for vagueness.”

The decision follows a hearing last week that combined arguments from two separate challenges against the law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May. A lawsuit brought by LGBTQ students calls the law discriminatory while another from a group of educators and the publisher Penguin Random House claims it violates their freedom of speech.

Enforcement provisions in the law that apply to book removals were set to take effect January 1...

Judge Stephen Locher said in his ruling released late Friday afternoon that the court was unable to find another school library book restriction “even remotely similar to Senate File 496.” Where lawmakers should use a scalpel, he said, SF 496 is a “bulldozer” that has pulled books out of schools that are widely regarded as important works.

“The underlying message is that there is no redeeming value to any such book even if it is a work of history, self-help guide, award-winning novel, or other piece of serious literature,” Locher wrote. “In effect, the Legislature has imposed a puritanical ‘pall of orthodoxy’ over school libraries.”"

Clarence Williams, The Washington Post; This Arlington librarian is pushing back against book bans

 Clarence Williams, The Washington Post; This Arlington librarian is pushing back against book bans

"There is something to offend and upset everyone, and if there isn't we're not doing our job," Kresh said."

Book bans are harming LGBTQ people, advocates say. This online library is fighting back.; CNN, December 16, 2023

Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN; Book bans are harming LGBTQ people, advocates say. This online library is fighting back.

"The Queer Liberation Library (QLL, pronounced “quill”) is entirely online. Since launching in October, more than 2,300 members have signed up to browse its free collection of hundreds of ebooks and audiobooks featuring LGBTQ stories, Lundstrom said.

After becoming increasingly alarmed at efforts to censor LGBTQ stories in the nation’s public schools, Kieran Hickey, the library’s founder and executive director, said they set out to create a haven for queer literature that can be accessed from anywhere in the country.

“Queer people have so many barriers to access queer literature – social, economic, and political,” Hickey said. “(For) anybody who’s on a journey of self-discovery in their sexual orientation or gender identity, finding information and going to queer spaces can be incredibly daunting. So, this is a resource that anybody in the United States can have no matter where they live.”

Until recent years, books featuring LGBTQ stories made up a small percentage of titles challenged in schools and public libraries in the US.

Between 2010 and 2019, just about 9% of unique titles challenged in libraries contained LGBTQ themes, according to data from the American Library Association, which tracks and opposes book censorship.

But books featuring the voices and experiences of LGBTQ people now make up an overwhelming proportion of books targeted for censorship – part of a broader, conservative-led movement that is limiting the rights and representation of LGBTQ Americans."

In Missouri, years of efforts to ban books take a toll on school librarians: 'It's too painful'; St. Louis Public Radio , NPR, December 26, 2023

St. Louis Public Radio , NPR; In Missouri, years of efforts to ban books take a toll on school librarians: 'It's too painful'

"Maestas decided to speak out at a recent school board meeting for the first time against the proposed revisions. She is especially worried about the removal of diversity requirements.

“We have to have diversity in our libraries,” Maestas said. “We have to. All people have the right to be recognized or appreciated, to see themselves in the collection. And students have the right and the privilege of being able to step into the shoes of someone unlike themselves, to experience their life through 300 pages.”

The school board has indefinitely tabled the policy change.

Looking back at the past two years, Maestas doesn’t know what is behind the focus on libraries, but she thinks it is part of a broader attack on truth, public education and even democracy.

“Libraries are at the heart of our democracy,” Maestas said. “People have those First Amendment rights to learn what they want to learn, to hear what they want to hear, to say what they want to say. When you can attack those First Amendment rights and you can remove the sources of valid information and valid education from everyone, then you have the power.”"

New Yorker Article Seems to Misdescribe S. Ct.'s Decision on School Library Book Removal; Reason, December 23, 2023

EUGENE VOLOKH , Reason; New Yorker Article Seems to Misdescribe S. Ct.'s Decision on School Library Book Removal

"The article claims that a prohibition on viewpoint-based removals of school library books is "settled law" announced by a "majority opinion." But that's not so...

The matter, then, is not clear. Lower courts may indeed themselves decide that viewpoint-based removals of books from school libraries violate the First Amendment, and they may find Justice Brennan's opinion to be persuasive. And schools may reasonably worry that this might happen, and might conclude that it's better to avoid that litigation. But courts and schools may instead conclude otherwise, and be more persuaded by Chief Justice Burger's dissent.

My own view is more in line with the dissent: I think a public school is entitled to decide which viewpoints to promote through its own library; school authorities can decide that their library will be a place where they provide books they recommend as particularly interesting/useful/enlightening/etc. The process of selecting library books is part of the government's own judgment about what views it wishes to promote; and the ability to reconsider selection decisions (including in response to pressure from the public, which is to say from the ultimate governors of the public schools) should go with the ability to make those decisions in the first place. To be sure, some such decisions may be foolish or narrow-minded, but they're not unconstitutional."

Someone complained about a book in a Great Barrington classroom. Then the police showed up; The Berkshire Eagle, December 15, 2023

Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle; Someone complained about a book in a Great Barrington classroom. Then the police showed up

"What baffles and disturbs educators, parents and librarians is that a police officer was allowed into a school to investigate a book. It is also that the teacher was not alerted beforehand.

One librarian said it harkens to something dark.

“It brings you back to 1930s Germany, when law enforcement was behind censorship,” said Wendy Pearson, director of the Stockbridge Library, which has Kobabe’s novel on its shelves.

The teacher whose classroom was searched pointed also to the absurdity of it.

“I will never condone book-banning,” she wrote in another social media post about the incident. “Respect for parental and educational guidance? Absolutely! But a police officer should never, ever search classrooms for award-winning literature to remove. Period.”"

LWV to explore censorship in libraries and schools; The Mountain Mail, November 7, 2023

The Mountain Mail; LWV to explore censorship in libraries and schools

"Jamie LaRue, executive director of Garfield County Libraries, will discuss censorship at an event sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Chaffee County from noon to 1 p.m. Nov. 13 in the Sangre de Cristo Electric Association community room, 29780 U.S. 24 N. in Buena Vista...

As the former director of Douglas County Libraries, LaRue responded to 250 challenges, which are attempts to remove or restrict access to library resources. As executive director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, he oversaw another 1,000 reports of censorship attempts nationwide and summarized for ALA the public challenges for the following year. 

As the current director of the Garfield County Public Library District, LaRue has responded to another dozen or so, including packed public meetings and a campaign to force the library to restrict or remove specific titles. 

Prior to the presentation, at 11:15 a.m., the League will host a social time and short business meeting. A video of the presentation will be available at LWVChaffeeCounty.org following the meeting."

Students hated ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Their teachers tried to dump it.; The Washington Post, November 3, 2023

 Hannah Natanson, The Washington Post; Students hated ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Their teachers tried to dump it.

"The majority of filings targeted books by and about LGBTQ individuals or people of color, per a Washington Post analysis of 2,500 pages of school book challenges filed nationally in the 2021-2022 academic year. Most came from parents or residents: Of the nearly 500 book challengers who gave an identification in The Post’s database, just eight said they were school staff...

Since its publication in 1960, Harper Lee’s novel — which recounts the story of a White lawyer, Atticus Finch, fruitlessly defending a Black man falsely accused of rape — has drawn both protests and paeans.

The objections to the book have shifted over time. In 1966, a Virginia school board banned the book for its “immoral” depiction of rape. Forty years later, a California school district forbade teaching“Mockingbird” after parents alleged it was racist for its use of the n-word and portrayal of Black people. Lee’s novel made the American Library Association’s top 10 list of most challenged books in 2009, 2011, 2017 and 2020."

Librarian feels Alabamians ‘betrayed’ by recommendation to leave American Library Association; Al.com, October 28, 2023

Williesha Morris, Al.com; Librarian feels Alabamians ‘betrayed’ by recommendation to leave American Library Association

"Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) executive director Nancy Pack said in a memo they should “discontinue our institutional membership to the American Library Association (ALA).”...

Matthew Layne, president of the Alabama Library Association, an ALA chapter, said in an email that by disaffiliating from the ALA, the APLS “will lose access to a professional organization with over 50,000 members of professional librarians and library workers from around the world. They will lose access to workshops and training from brilliant librarian leaders, thinkers, and the important collegiality that one experiences in such organizations.”

Pack said in the memo “limiting a child’s access to potentially harmful content or relocating controversial reading materials should not be misconstrued as censorship in any form. APLS recommends that libraries exercise their best judgment when it comes to shelving sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate materials, regardless of the intended age group, to support a parent’s right to protect their children.”...

In response to Pack’s recommendations, librarian Marylyn Eubank said in a letter sent to the Alabama Library Association, “it is hard to compose a professional response to fear-based, unfounded, reactionary actions. One shakes with anger and the righteous indignation born from years of professional study and development. But shaking with anger doesn’t make the situation better for the millions of Alabama residents (mostly children) who have been betrayed by the very professionals meant to protect their rights.

Eubank said “Alabama kept books used by her black residents separate from books used by white residents” until the 1960s, and today, “funding for libraries is being held hostage by the governor and the state legislature.”

“Pack is simply providing the state what it wants - censorship in exchange for funding,” Eubank said."

Scholastic backtracks, saying it will stop separating diverse books for fairs in 2024; NPR, October 25, 2023

Rachel Treisman , NPR; Scholastic backtracks, saying it will stop separating diverse books for fairs in 2024

"In a statement issued Wednesday, Scholastic said it will keep in mind the needs of the children it serves as well as educators facing local content restrictions. 

"It is unsettling that the current divisive landscape in the U.S. is creating an environment that could deny any child access to books, or that teachers could be penalized for creating access to all stories for their students," it wrote.

PEN America, the nonprofit organization that supports free speech, acknowledged Scholastic's dilemma and applauded its decision to pivot. 

"Scholastic recognized that, as difficult a bind as this pernicious legislation created, the right answer was not to become an accessory to censorship," Jonathan Friedman, the director of its Free Expression and Education program, said in a statement. "Scholastic is an essential source of knowledge and a delight for countless children. We are glad to see them champion the freedom to read.""

Sarasota County asked to end ties to library associations over 'ideology, explicit' books; Herald-Tribune, October 25, 2023

Earle Kimel , Herald-Tribune; Sarasota County asked to end ties to library associations over 'ideology, explicit' books

"Citing policies that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, Michelle Pozzie called the ALA part of a “bigger umbrella of three-letter organizations that, believe it or not, push ideology over explicit material and not age appropriate material as well as DEI talking points – which is a pet peeve of our governor, so it should be, as a reflection, for you, too.”

Pozzie, who said she homeschooled two children, said libraries are not safe for children because of books that can found there, including the 2019 graphic novel “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” by Maia Kobabe.

“Let me be clear, no one wants to ban books or censor speech but filth and ideology should not be funded in the taxpayer’s expense,” Pozzie said."

Adults have a lot to say about book bans — but what about kids?; NPR, October 4, 2023

 Elizabeth Blair, NPR; Adults have a lot to say about book bans — but what about kids?

"There's a lot of discussion and debate about the rise in efforts to remove certain books from school libraries and curriculums. It usually involves adults debating the issue — but it's kids who are affected.

So how do young readers feel about book bans? We asked some.

We spoke with Sawyer, 12, from Arlington, Va., Theo, 9, from St. Louis, Mo., Priya, 14, and Ellie, 14, both from Austin, Texas. To protect their privacy, we're only using their first names."

ALL THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES OFFERING FREE ACCESS TO BANNED BOOKS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE; Book Riot, October 23, 2023

Kelly Jensen , Book Riot; ALL THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES OFFERING FREE ACCESS TO BANNED BOOKS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE

"This list is as comprehensive a roundup as possible of all the U.S. public libraries offering access to banned books. It includes the name of the library, the people who are being granted access to the collections, materials within the collections, as well as any other pertinent or relevant information. 

The list will be updated as more libraries engage in this kind of access activism. Note that many of these programs operate under the banner of “Books Unbanned.” Though they will be quite similar because laws regarding libraries differ state by state and because every library collection differs from another, the breadth of access and catalogs differs in each variation of the program. Folks who qualify may apply for cards at each of the Books Unbound programs—you’re not limited to just one."

Innovative Approaches to Circumventing Book Bans; American Libraries, October 3, 2023

Greg Landgraf , American Libraries; Innovative Approaches to Circumventing Book Bans

"Libraries and schools nationwide are working overtime to repel an unprecedented level of attacks on the freedom to read. Vigorous debate, advocacy, and coalition-building remain the backbone of the fight against book banning. But some libraries, groups, and individuals have recently taken innovative approaches to ensure information access for all."

Foley Library director who refused to remove inappropriate material from children section departing for Wyoming; 1819 News, October 16, 2023

Erica Thomas , 1819 News; Foley Library director who refused to remove inappropriate material from children section departing for Wyoming

John Jackson was hired by the Campbell County Public Library System in Wyoming as its executive director.

The system's former director, Terri Lesley, was fired on July 28 following the discovery of what some called pornography in the children and teen sections of the Gillette Library. Lesley said she believed the public was being harmed by being unable to access various information. After being fired, she filed a lawsuit against the library system for discrimination and members of a family who reportedly defamed her by writing Letters to the Editor accusing her of illegal activity.

When residents in Foley voiced concerns in August about similar material, Jackson told 1819 News he would not remove inappropriate material from the children or young adult sections if he saw it.

"I have the ability to take it off the shelf, but I will not take it off the shelf because I will not be self-censoring," Jackson said. "I will not fall into the trap to becoming a censor and a book-banner because once you do that, where do you stop? You then become ruled by whatever anyone comes in and says they find offensive. I'm sure that someone could find content in virtually any book on the shelf offensive based on their personal beliefs, so once you start book banning, there's no end to it."

Jackson said he would stand against censorship and that moves against the books were also against constitutional rights."

Which banned books have been removed from Iowa schools? Our updated database lists them; Des Moines Register, October 16, 2023

Tim Webber, Des Moines Register; Which banned books have been removed from Iowa schools? Our updated database lists them

"A new law approved this year by Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa’s Republican-controlled Legislature has already resulted in the removal of hundreds of books from school libraries throughout Iowa, according to data obtained by the Des Moines Register, and that number could reach the thousands by the start of the new calendar year. 

Senate File 496, signed into law by Reynolds in May, bans books with descriptions or depictions of sex acts from school libraries and prohibits instruction on gender and sexual identity until seventh grade, among other effects.

Since then, schools have worked throughout the summer and into the new school year to meet the law’s new restrictions, with the process still ongoing in many districts...

Which books have been pulled from the shelves in my Iowa school district?

Through Wednesday morning, 24 school districts have sent the Register a list of books that have been removed from their schools’ shelves.

They can be viewed in this database, or you can use the quick search tool below. The database groups together graphic novels, translations and other direct adaptations with the original work. Additionally, note that some school districts have removed books as a precautionary measure as they determine whether they can be returned to the shelves...

Together, more than 450 individual works by more than 300 authors have already been pulled from the shelves of Iowa school districts as a result of Senate File 496. Our database will continue to be updated as we receive more lists from districts around the state."

Huntington Beach City Council to consider review board to stop some books from hitting public library shelves; Los Angeles Times, October 13, 2023

 MATT SZABO, Los Angeles Times; Huntington Beach City Council to consider review board to stop some books from hitting public library shelves

"Van Der Mark has said multiple times that what she is seeking does not amount to a book ban, but Chavez disagreed.

“They’re basically getting a committee to do the book banning for them, right?” she said. “It’s still a book ban. A library of our size orders about 9,000 children’s books a year, so I don’t know where they think the committee’s going to find the time to read these books. It doesn’t seem like a workable plan at all.”"