“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
There have been at least 1,586 book bans in U.S. schools since last summer, the highest number in decades. VICE News dives into why the bans are happening, what books are getting pulled, and how some students are losing access to information about themselves.
What is Banned Books Week?
"Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular." -- ALA Banned Books Week
Challenge: "An attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group."
Banned: Removal of materials.
The theme for 2023 is “Let Freedom Read” with this year's list of titles including those that address racism and racial justice, as well as those that shared the stories of Black, Indigenous, or people of color. As with previous years, LGBTQ+ content is included as well.
"ALA documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 book challenges reported in 2021. Of the record 2,571 unique titles targeted for censorship, these are most challenged, including reasons cited for censoring the books" (2022 Book Ban Data).
Banned Books Week is championed by LeVar Burton as conservative book bans reach a record peak across America. "You can buy banned books. There are myriad ways in which you can participate and be counted,” Burton tells Joy Reid. “Stand up and be counted. The most important thing is--resist."
Top 13 Most Challenged Books of 2022:
1. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe.
Number of challenges: 151
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit