Banned and Challenged Books

Established in 1982, Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community in shared support of the freedom to read.

Source: The American Library Association: "Banned Books Week"

What is a Banned Book?

 A banned book is a book that may be:

• removed from a library or libraries.

• not allowed to be published.

• not allowed to enter an entire country.

• not allowed to exist: to be physically destroyed, typically by burning.

Source: UWF Libraries: "What is a Banned Book"?

What is a Challenged Book?

•  A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.

• 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. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.

Source: UWF Libraries: "Challenge or Ban"?

Issues to Consider

• What happens when people are denied access to books and the ideas contained in them?

• What happens when an author’s right to freedom of speech (in this country) is denied?

• Is it a coincidence that some of the greatest books ever written are also some of the most banned or challenged books?

Source: COM Library: "Issues to Consider"

Intellectual Freedom, or Freedom of Thought

"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."

-American Library Association, Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

-Article 19, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations

Source: Wayne State University Library System: "Intellectual Freedom" 

The First Amendment

In the United States, your right to read what you want is protected by the First Amendment. In a free society, the author and reader are protected.

Source: UWF Libraries: "The First Amendment" 

According to the American Library Association's (ALA) Office of Intellectual Freedom, in 2023, 4,240 individual book titles held in libraries were challenged. 

• This means individuals or groups submitted titles or lists of titles to be removed or "banned" from circulation or holdings. This is the highest number of individual book titles challenged within a single year in ALA's records. Most of the titles targeted were by or about BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ persons. 
• Book bans resulting from book challenges are understood to be a form of censorship. Censorship creates boundaries, but the ideas and characters portrayed by books can free imagination, inspire creativity, and foster connections. 

Pen America "counted more than 10,000 book bans in public schools" in the 2023-2024 school year, consisting of 4,231 individual titles.

• More information about their definitions and approach to counting and tracking is available through their website .
• Data from their October 2024 report is represented in an interactive map that depicts number of titles per state. 

Per the American Library Association's tracking (which is by calendar year), there were fewer individual titles challenged in 2024 than in 2023, but there were additional and different kinds of censorship attempts.