English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
English
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Top 5 Challenged Books of 2023
These are the top 5 challenged books in the U.S. in 2023. The complete list is below.
Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship by focusing on efforts to remove or restrict access to books. Typically (but not always) held during the last week of September, the annual event highlights the value of free and open access to information. It brings together the entire book community — librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers — supporting the freedom to seek and express ideas.
“This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.”
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom
In a time of intense political polarization, library staff in every state face unprecedented attempts to ban books. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,247 demands to censor library books and resources in 2023. The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels documented by OIF in more than 20 years of tracking: 4,240 unique book titles were targeted for removal from schools and libraries. This tops the previous high from 2022, when 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship. Titles representing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals made up 47% of those targeted in censorship attempts.
The theme for Banned Books Week 2024 (September 22-28) is “Freed Between the Lines.” We can find freedom in the pages of a book — but book bans and censorship threaten that freedom, along with many other rights and institutions. During Banned Books Week 2024 and beyond, let’s share our love of the right to read and the freedom found in books. Let’s be Freed Between the Lines!
Challenged Books and the American Library Association
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) annually compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books…
The OIF has released new data documenting book challenges throughout the United States. The data shows that challenges of unique titles surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest level documented by ALA.
Bans by Numbers
In a time of intense political polarization, library staff in every state are facing unprecedented attempts to ban books. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,247 demands to censor library books and resources in 2023. The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels documented by OIF in more than 20 years of tracking: 4,240 unique book titles were targeted for removal from schools and libraries. This tops the previous high from 2022, when 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship. Titles representing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals made up 47% of those targeted in censorship attempts.
Restrictions to Library
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% over the previous year, accounting for about 46% of all book challenges in 2023; school libraries saw an 11% increase over 2022 numbers.
What is Going On
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% of those targeted in censorship attempts.
There were attempts to censor more than 100 titles in these 17 states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
What is being done?
Organizations like PEN America oppose book banning and the intolerance, exclusion, and censorship that strengthen it. PEN America tracks all book bans in libraries and classrooms across the U.S.
Authors, students, and families from Escambia County, Florida, have joined PEN America and Penguin Random House to file a federal lawsuit challenging removals and restrictions of books from school libraries that violate their rights to free speech and equal protection under the law.
Read more from Pen.org | Book Bans in Public Schools | Campus Free Speech
What can you do?
Report Censorship
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom provides confidential support to anyone facing a challenge or ban. This support can be letters, book reviews, resources, talking points, or emotional support.
Report censorship online or call (800) 545-2433, ext. 4226.
Show your support for your freedom to read!
Tag on social media:
#bannedbooksweek #nocensorship #bannedbooks #readme #banningbookssilencesstories #bannedbook #censorship #readfreely #freedometoread #istandwiththebanned
Call & Write a Decision-maker
Call school and library administrators, school board and library board members, city councilpersons, and your elected representatives to ask them to support the right to read!
Resources
Challenged Books of 2023
5. Flamer by Mike Curato
Number of challenges: 67
Challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit.
4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Number of challenges: 68
Challenged for claims to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, rape, drugs, and profanity.
3. This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson
Number of challenges: 71
Challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, claimed to be sexually explicit.
2. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
Number of challenges: 82
Challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit.
1. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
Challenged because of LGBTQIA+ content and claimed to be sexually explicit.
Number of challenges: 151
In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic about reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em.
Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.
Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity–what it means and how to think about it–for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.
View the complete list of Challenged Books in 2022
October News
2024 Cool-weather reads are coming at you! As the leaves start to change color and the temperature drops, it’s the perfect time to cozy up with a good book. Our blog has curated a selection of spooky-themed reads that will surely keep you entertained. From thrilling mysteries to heartwarming romance, there’s something for everyone to…
Food Collection Site
The Parkland Community Library is a dropbox location assisting Parkland CARES Food Pantry as a food collection site! We will collect the four items below to support our Parkland Snack Pack program. The program currently serves over 450 monthly students, aiming to reach 900. Please consider donating to this worthy cause! 2024 Mac and CheeseChicken…
September News
2024 National Library Card Sign-Up Month Autobots, roll out…to the library! Whether upgrading your skills, scouting for knowledge and information, or connecting with other heroic readers, a library card is your key to an arsenal of resources. Spark your creativity as a builder or programmer by tinkering in our crafting and builder programs; mine the…