DonateBanned Books Week is taking place this year between September 18 – 24.
One of the basic policies in the Library Bill of Rights states:
Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
“Library Bill of Rights”, American Library Association, June 30, 2006.
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill (Accessed September 20, 2022)
Document ID: 669fd6a3-8939-3e54-7577-996a0a3f8952
That being said, we’d like to clear up some misconceptions by defining key terms you’ve probably come across repeatedly within the last couple of months:
A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.
Censorship is a change in the access status of material, based on the content of the work and made by a governing authority or its representatives. Such changes include exclusion, restriction, removal, or age/grade level changes.
Intellectual freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored.
“Challenge Support”, American Library Association, December 8, 2016. http://www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport (Accessed September 20, 2022)Document ID: 5ca2181e-6002-c044-b9af-e5e6a4ac1336
For more information about libraries and censorship, visit ALA’s Banned and Challenged Books page.
For the latest news on book challenges, visit Book Riot’s Censorship News Roundup page.
To report censorship, fill out a form at the ALA website.
To check statistics, visit the Unite Against Book Bans website and read the Banned in the USA: Rising School Book Bans Threaten Free Expression and Students’ First Amendment Rights report by PEN America.
What’s the best way to stand up against censorship? Read banned and challenged books! Check out the following list and visit your local library (Libby and Hoopla for e-content) to borrow these titles!
- Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
- Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images
- Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
- Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
- Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
- Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
- Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references and use of a derogatory term
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
- Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- Reasons: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit
- This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
- Reasons: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.
- Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
- Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.
“Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists”, American Library Association, March 26, 2013. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10 (Accessed September 20, 2022). Document ID: 8417fa9e-ceff-4512-aca9-9fbc81b8bd81