Efforts to ban books hit record high in 2023: Report

(NewsNation) — Efforts to ban books reached record high levels last year, highlighting a widening push for censorship in libraries, according to a new report from the American Library Association.

The report, published Thursday, found 4,240 books in school and public libraries were targeted for censorship in 2023, which accounted for a 65% increase from 2,571 in 2022. 

The number is the highest the association has seen since it began collecting book ban data two decades ago and still likely doesn’t capture the full extent of censorship, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, told NewsNation. 

“The numbers are just so incredible, and it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” she said.  

“We should all be deeply concerned that there’s this organized effort to ask governments to tell us what to read and think about and prevent us from reading books that are often telling stories from individuals who have often not found a voice in our society,” Caldwell-Stone continued.

But those on the opposing side have stood firm that parents should have control over books available to their children.

“The problem with the books that our chapters across the country have concerns with is that they are obscene and pornographic,” Tina Descovich, one of the founders of Moms for Liberty, said on NewsNation’s “CUOMO” last year.

Moms for Liberty did not immediately return a request for comment by NewsNation Thursday.

Where is this happening? 

According to the report, attempts to censor books took place in 17 states last year. These states included Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Groups and individuals demanding the censorship of multiple titles, often dozens or hundreds at a time, drove this surge, the report stated. 

Notably, there’s been a significant uptick in attacks on public libraries, Caldwell-Stone said. 

Most book censorship battles have taken place in school libraries, but last year, the number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% over the previous year. 

Data showed that this accounted for about 46% of all book challenges in 2023.

School libraries saw an 11% increase over 2022 numbers.

Conservative groups are now going after the very same books that they removed from school libraries, Caldwell-Stone said. 

“What’s ironic about it is that they encourage the censorship of these books in school libraries by telling everyone that they could just go down the street and get the books in the public library. But now, they pivoted, and we’re now seeing efforts to remove the very same books from the public library,” she said.

What books are being challenged?

Much of the books facing censorship calls represent the “voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) individuals,” the report stated, and such books accounted for nearly 50% of the challenges. 

Largely conservative groups have labeled books with these themes or characters inappropriate and sexual. 

Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir “Gender Queer” has topped the list for the past two years, with other criticized releases including Jonathan Evison’s “Lawn Boy,” Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.”

The ALA said it is planning to release its most recent top-challenged books next month.

What are those challenging and supporting book bans saying?

For the ALA, the issue of censorship is highly concerning and a government overreach. 

“Libraries that are intended to provide a wide range of ideas so people can make up their own minds about what they read and believe,” Caldwell-Stone said. “We cannot have one group, one vocal minority, dictate what we can read and think about and have the government act on that.” 

But a slew of conservative groups, including Moms for Liberty, have called for more parental control over books available to children.

The group has led much of the effort that encourages people to file complaints about books they feel should not be available in schools. 

Tiffany Justice, another founder of the group, also said on CUOMO last year that their group is not advocating for book bans but rather preserving age-appropriate access to titles.

“What we’re talking about is curating content in a library. You wouldn’t have the same books in a medical college that you would in a seminary, and just because a book is printed doesn’t mean that it belongs in a children’s library,” Justice said.

What is the state of book ban laws? 

Lawmakers in at least 13 states have introduced legislation that could restrict and censor libraries. EveryLibrary, a national group supporting campaigns against book bans, has labeled at least 116 bills as “of concern.”

In Wisconsin, lawmakers are considering a bill to take away protections from library employees being prosecuted on charges of possessing “obscene” materials that include books on gender and sexuality.

In Idaho, a bill proposes to prohibit librarians from making materials that include sexual conduct available to minors. 

Last week, an Alabama Library Board library board unanimously voted to halt purchasing of materials that contain LGBTQ+ content and “sexual content” intended for minors, The Prattville Post reported.

The Alabama Public Library Service voted last month to pull out of the ALA earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Illinois became the first state to pass a law against the banning of books in public libraries. 

Caldwell-Stone believes more states could follow. 

“We are seeing beginnings of a pushback, and we’re really hopeful that in the next few years, we’ll see a turnaround and wholehearted support for First Amendment freedoms,” she said.