School book bans rose dramatically in past academic year
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There were more than 10,000 instances of book bans during the 2023-2024 school year — nearly triple from the previous school year, according to preliminary findings released by PEN America on Monday.
Why it matters: Book bans have become central to contemporary culture wars and largely target stories about people of color and LGBTQ communities.
- There were more than 10,000 instances of book bans during the 2023-2024 school year — a jump from 3,362 recorded bans nationwide the previous year.
- The numbers refer to actions taken, not on individual books banned.
- Cases of book bans are also increasingly targeting stories by and about women and girls, along with those that include depictions of rape or sexual abuse, according to PEN America, which advocates for authors' rights.
State of play: Findings released Monday from two advocacy groups show that book banning efforts have dramatically increased since the COVID.
- Republican-led efforts to pass legislation restricting access to certain materials have been seen this year in Arizona, Idaho, Nebraska, Utah and Tennessee.
But lawsuits have also sprung up challenging book bans based on constitutional grounds.
- In Arkansas, a federal judge last year temporarily halted the enforcement of a law, just before it was set to take effect, that deemed librarians and bookstore owners can be criminally prosecuted for not removing materials deemed unsuitable.
- The lawsuit over the controversial law was set to go to trial this fall, the Arkansas Advocate reported.
Zoom in: About 8,000 of the book ban instances were recorded in Florida and Iowa, largely due to state laws, according to PEN America.
Zoom out: Date released by the American Library Association on Monday shows a slight decrease in attempts to censor different titles at public, school and academic libraries.
- Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, the ALA tracked 414 attempts to censor 1,128 different titles, a majority of which focused on race, gender and sexuality.
- The group tracked 695 attempts with 1,915 unique titles challenged during the same period the previous year.
- The ALA partly attributes the dwindling attempts to lawsuits challenging bans on constitutional grounds.
Worth noting: The ALA tracks challenges to books at public libraries and schools, while PEN tracks removals of books (whether ultimately permanent or not) in public schools.
What they're saying: Kasey Meehan, program director of Freedom to Read at PEN America, told Axios in an interview that the findings from different organizations have the same overarching trends.
- The data demonstrates "a continued attack on literature in public schools and public libraries," she add, adding that the tactics are continuously evolving.
- ALA President Cindy Hohl said in a statement, "We must continue to stand up for libraries and challenge censorship wherever it occurs."
- "We know people don't like being told what they are allowed to read, and we've seen communities come together to fight back and protect their libraries and schools from the censors," she added.
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