The American Library Association (ALA) reported March 14 that the number of book titles targeted for censorship in the US increased by 65% from 2022 to 2023, surging to a new record.
ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) documented attempts to censor 4,240 unique book titles in schools and libraries in 2023. The previous record was set in 2022, when 2,571 unique titles were targeted.
OIF reported 1,247 demands to censor library books and other materials in 2023, many of which targeted dozens or hundreds of titles at a time.
“The reports from librarians and educators in the field make it clear that the organized campaigns to ban books aren’t over and that we must all stand together to preserve our right to choose what we read,” OIF director Deborah Caldwell-Stone said in a March 14 statement. “Each demand to ban a book is a demand to deny each person’s constitutionally protected right to choose and read books that raise important issues and lift up the voices of those who are often silenced.”
Other findings from OIF include:
- Public libraries saw a particularly notable increase in the number of books challenged. The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries grew by 92% from 2022 to 2023. School libraries saw an 11% increase.
- Forty-seven percent of challenged materials represent the voices and experiences of those in the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC community.
- Seventeen states saw attempts to censor more than 100 titles. Visit OIF’s heat map for a breakdown of challenges by state.
ALA will unveil its list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in the US and its full 2024 State of America’s Libraries Report on April 8, during Right to Read Day and National Library Week.
