Dealing With Challenges to Library Materials

"Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance." ― Lyndon B Johnson

How to Handle Challenges to Books in the Collection

Congress Introduces a New Bill to Fight Book Bans in Schools - Dec. 6, 2023. This bill is HR6592. I am trying to find out what happened to it. The best I have done so for is at Congress.gov. It seems nothing has happened as of March 27, 2024
Resources for Book Challenges - Extensive list of helpful links from the American Association of School Librarians.
How to Respond to Challenges and Concerns About Library Materials - From the American Library Association.
Stand Up to Book Challenges - Prepare yourself for what may be coming. This is from the ALSC, August 25, 2022
Book Challenges: Coming Soon to a School Near You? - Helpful suggestions in this article by Steve Tetreault in Knowledge Quest, Nov. 3, 2021
Up to the Challenge - You must be prepared to meet a challenge to library materials before it happens. This is an article by Mona Kirby in American Libraries, Sept. 3, 2019.
Reporting Challenges: A Quick How To Video - From the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom.
Formal Reconsideration - Policies to deal with requests to remove books from the library. From the American Library Association.
Sample Reconsideration forms for library Materials - For public and school libraries. From the American Library Association.
Challenging Book Bans: What You Can Do - From the Education Law Center, August, 2023. Addressed to members of the community.
School Book Challenge Resource Center - There is an article here which you may wish to share with concerned community members. This is from the National Coalition Against Censorship.
School Librarians Face a New Penalty in the Banner-Book War: Prison - From the Washington Post, May 18, 2023. Check the map in this article to see if your state is considering such legislation
New Jersey Becomes the Latest State to prohibit Book Bans - December 9, 2024

What Materials are Being Challenged

Florida Officials Report Hundreds of books removed from schools - From the Guardian, November 13, 2024.
Ten Thousand Book Bans in the 2024 - 2024 School Year - This is a report from PEN America.
Banned and Challenged Books New data shows that the number of challenged books surged 65% in 2023. This will be the highest number of challenges ever reported. This is from the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom.
The State of America's Libraries 2024 - From the American Library Association.
The State of America's Libraries 2023 - From the American Library Association. The emphasis is book challenges. April, 2023
Book Bans are Rising Sharply in Public Libraries - From The New York Times, Sept. 21, 2023
The Top 10 Most Challenged Books - For the year 2024 from the American Library Association.
Mapping the Challenges to the Freedom to Read - You can see here the challenges in your state. Texas has the most challenges which I do not think is something for Texans to be proud of. This is from the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom.
Book Bans: What to Know - What is the difference between a book challenge and a book ban. This article from U. S. News, May 7, 2022, includes a list of the most challenged or banned books of 2021.
Culture Wars - Why book banning is increasing in the United States. This video is from Deutsche Welle, and it is a must watch to understand what is going with book banning. May 29, 2022.
Banned in the USA, State Laws Suppercharge Book Suppression in Schools - An update on Book Banning in the US from PenAmerica
37 States and Millions of Students Impacted by Book Bans - This is comment on the PenAmerica Report by Kelly Jensen in Book Riot.April 20, 2023.
Over 300 Picture Books Were Banned Last School Year - From Education Week, Feb 21, 2023
A Streak of Extremism: Book Bans May Increase in 2023 - From the Guardian, Dec. 24, 2022

Who is doing the Challenging

A Fast-Growing Group of Conservative Groups is Fueling a Surge in Book Bans - This is an article from the New York Times, Dec 12, 2022.
Book Looks -An organization which helps people find books to ban.
Moms for Liberty
Library Funding Becomes the "Nuclear Option" As the Battle Over Books Escalates. - This is a report from NPR, May 4, 2023. Schools may lose funds if they do not remove books which some people consider inappropriate.
Central Bucks School District Passes a Library Book Policy:Community Says It is a New Form of Book Ban - This is a school district in Pennsylvania. This report is from TV station WHYY.
Huston Schools Turn Libraries into Rooms for Punishment - 28 librarians have been eliminated. This article is from News Nation on July 28, 2023.

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This site is maintained by Linda Bertland, school librarian (retired), Philadelphia, PA. Please address any comments, additions, or corrections to info@sldirectory.com.