Banned Books Week takes place October 4–10. This year’s theme is “Let Books Be.”
4,235
Total number of unique titles challenged in libraries in 2025, as documented by the American Library Association’s (ALA’s) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). That number is the second highest on record, just short of 2023’s 4,240 unique titles challenged.
2007
Average publication year of the books on ALA’s list of the Top 11 Most Challenged Books of 2025. Only four titles have been published since 2016.
92%
Share of the 713 reported library censorship attempts in 2025 that were initiated by pressure groups, government officials, and decision makers. In 2023, only 35% of censorship attempts came from those groups.
$275,000
Settlement to be paid by Saline County, Arkansas, to former library director Patty Hector. Hector alleged that her 2023 firing was retaliation after she refused to move books about LGBTQ+ topics, sex education, and systemic racism to an area inaccessible to children.
2/3
Share of school board candidates in Florida supported by Moms for Liberty in 2022 who were defeated, did not seek reelection, or are facing runoffs this November. Among them is Moms for Liberty cofounder Bridget Ziegler, who did not run for reelection to Sarasota’s school board. While officially nonpartisan, the Sarasota board has flipped to a more progressive slate of candidates.
3
Number of artists who contributed designs for 2026 Banned Books Week posters. Mikey Burton, Hyesu Lee, and Loveis Wise created imagery to support this year’s theme, “Let Books Be.”
406
Number of Bluesky posts, as of October 6, by the Censorship Cases Bot, which monitors developments in legal cases related to book censorship. The account is curated by OIF and hosted by the Free Law Project.
