Banned and Challenged BooksBooks have been challenged and/or banned (removed from libraries, bookstores, and schools) throughout history. Today, book challenges are on the rise. In 2019 the American Library Association noted that they are up 14% from 2018. Libraries support and celebrate intellectual freedom, or readers' right to access information.
1) Access: readers can find and check out materials that interest them without unnecessary obstacles
2) Diversity: readers can find materials on a wide range of subjects from a wide range of viewpoints
3) Privacy: readers can read those materials without supervision
Use the resources below to learn more about the history of banned books, the reasons books are challenged or banned, and some of the titles that are frequently challenged.
Books get challenged for a number of reasons, but often out of fear resulting from an
that goes against the challenger's beliefs.
Below is a word cloud of reasons and phrases books were challenged in 2021:
The following chart shows the breakdown of who initiates challenges:
