Attempts to Ban Books Accelerated Last Year

After several years of rising book bans, censorship efforts continued to surge last year, reaching the highest levels ever recorded by the American Library Association.

Last year, 4,240 individual titles were targeted for removal from libraries, up from 2,571 titles in 2022, according to a report released Thursday by the association.

Those figures likely fail to capture the full scale of book removals, as many go unreported. The American Library Association, which has tracked book bans for more than 20 years, compiles data from book challenges that library professionals reported to the group and information gathered from news reports.

“I wake up every morning hoping this is over,” said Emily Drabinski, the president of the organization. “What I find striking is that this is still happening, and it’s happening with more intensity.”

The stark rise in book challenges comes as libraries around the United States have emerged as a battleground in a culture war over what constitutes appropriate reading material. While book bans aren’t new, censorship efforts have become increasingly organized and politicized, with the rise of conservative groups like Moms for Liberty and Utah Parents United, which encourage their members to file complaints about books they deem inappropriate and have lobbied for legislation that regulates the content of library collections.

Some librarians and free speech advocacy groups are also alarmed by the rise in book removals and challenges at public libraries. Book challenges at public libraries rose by 92 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, totaling 1,761 individual titles. In school libraries, challenges rose by 11 percent, according to the report.