Banned and Challenged Books

Battles have erupted at schools, school boards, and library meetings across the country as parents, lawmakers, and advocacy groups are debating books. The American Library Association documented more than 1,200 demands to censor books and resources last year, the highest since it started collecting data 20 years ago. In this NewsHour program, Jeffrey Brown discusses more on the topic with the group's director, Deborah Caldwell-Stone.

In Florida, lawmakers recently passed measures enabling public schools to restrict student access to certain books and limit discussions of gender, sexuality, and race in the classroom. In Texas, school administrators blocked access to more than 800 books in 22 districts over questions about whether they are "developmentally appropriate for student use." Pennsylvania and Tennessee have undertaken similar actions, and schools across the country are grappling with new pressures concerning what their students are reading and how they are taught. Supporters of these measures argue that schools should not expose children to sex, violence, drug use, race, or other topics they deem inappropriate. Such measures do not constitute book bans, they contend, as students can obtain these books elsewhere. Opponents argue that such measures are indeed book bans and that removing books from school libraries is akin to censorship and inherently un-American. Reading controversial books and discussing controversial topics, they contend, fosters critical thinking, encourages empathy, and provides a wider understanding of the world. Should certain books ever be banned in school?

Robinson, S. (2022). "Book bans are about winning elections, not protecting children." _Texas Library Journal_, 98(1): 6.

Pickering, G. (2023). “'Harmful to Minors:' How Book Bans Hurt Adolescent Development." _The Serials Librarian_, 84(1–4): 32–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/0361526X.2023.2245843

Perez, A. H. (2022). "Defeating the Censor Within: How to Hold Your Stand for Youth Access to Literature in the Face of School Book Bans." _Knowledge Quest_ 50(5): 34

Oltmann, S. M. (2023). "Fighting Book Bans across the US." _Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy_, 8(1): 2–3. https://doi.org/10.5860/jifp.v8i1.8100

Dallacqua, A. K. (2022). 'Let Me Just Close My Eyes:' Challenged and Banned Books, Claimed Identities, and Comics." _Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy_, 66(2):134–138. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1250

From the abstract: "Book bans and censorship battles have garnered considerable attention in recent years, but one of the most critical battlegrounds is kept out of the public eye. Prison officials can ban any book that threatens the security or operations of their facility. This means that the knowledge access rights of incarcerated people are subject to the judgments of the people detaining them."