91´«Ã½

Book challenges top 700 – the most since 2000

CHICAGO —The 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) kicks off National Library Week with the release of its State of America's Libraries Report, highlighting the challenges U.S. libraries faced in the second year of the pandemic – as well as the ways they innovated to meet the needs of their communities.

Library staff in every state faced an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books. 91´«Ã½’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school and university materials and services in 2021, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals. Most targeted books were by or about Black or LGBTQIA+ persons.

“The 729 challenges tracked by 91´«Ã½ represent the highest number of attempted book bans since we began compiling these lists 20 years ago,” said 91´«Ã½ President Patricia “Patty” Wong. “We support individual parents' choices concerning their child's reading and believe that parents should not have those choices dictated by others. Young people need to have access to a variety of books from which they can learn about different perspectives. So, despite this organized effort to ban books, libraries remain ready to do what we always have: make knowledge and ideas available so people are free to choose what to read.”

Below are the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021:

1. “Gender Queer,” by Maia Kobabe
   
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images.

2. “Lawn Boy,” by Jonathan Evison
   
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

3. “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” by George M. Johnson
   
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

4. “Out of Darkness,” by Ashley Hope Perez
   
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

5. “The Hate U Give,” by Angie Thomas
   
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda.

6. “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie
   
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references and use of a derogatory term.

7. “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” by Jesse Andrews
   
   Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women.

8. “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison
   
   Reasons: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit.

9. “This Book is Gay,” by Juno Dawson
   
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.

10. “Beyond Magenta,” by Susan Kuklin
    
    Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

Recent polling shows that seven in 10 voters oppose efforts to remove books from public libraries, including majorities of voters across party lines. Three-quarters of parents of public-school children (74%) express a high degree of confidence in school librarians to make good decisions about which books to make available to children, and when asked about specific types of books that have been a focus of local debates, large majorities say for each that they should be available in school libraries on an age-appropriate basis.

The new poll is the first to approach the issue of book bans through the lenses of public and school libraries. It also found near-universal high regard for librarians and recognition of the critical role that public and school libraries play in their communities.

In response to the uptick in book challenges and other efforts to suppress access to information, 91´«Ã½ will launch Unite Against Book Bans, a national initiative focused on empowering readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship. More information is available at uniteagainstbookbans.org.

About the 91´«Ã½

The 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the 91´«Ã½ has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library's role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all.

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