Indiana libraries have seen more than a dozen book challenges this year
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Hamilton County's kerfuffle over "The Fault in Our Stars" isn't an isolated incident.
Driving the news: Indiana has seen at least a dozen challenges to 19 titles so far this year, according to a new American Library Association report.
- Last year, the state saw 25 challenges to 33 titles with "Gender Queer: A Memoir," the most challenged book in the country and in Indiana.
Why it matters: Challenges at public libraries, like the most recent one at Hamilton East Public Library, are on the rise. They accounted for nearly half of the challenges reported this year, up from 16% over the same time period last year.
Plus: The number of challenges targeting multiple titles continues to rise. Before the pandemic, most library book challenges were from specific parents regarding specific books but this year, the association estimates 92% of book challenges targeted multiple titles nationwide.
The big picture: This is evidence of a "growing, well-organized conservative" movement that is broadly distributing lists to supporters to file mass challenges, Axios' Emma Hurt reports.
By the numbers: Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 this year, the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom reported 695 attempts to censor library materials and services and documented challenges to 1,915 unique titles — a 20% increase from the same reporting period in 2022.
- Of 1,269 attempts nationwide to ban 2,571 books in 2022, 40% sought to remove or restrict more than 100 books at once.
- Total attempts in 2022 were nearly double 2021's figure.
Of note: The report found that the vast majority of challenges were to books written by or about a person of color or a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Zoom in: The Hamilton East situation targeting local author John Green's best-selling young adult novel became a national news story.
Catch up fast: "The Fault in Our Stars" was one of hundreds relocated after the library board passed a new policy that led to the review of titles in the youth, middle school and high school sections to check whether they were "age appropriate."
- Green called the move "an embarrassment" on social media, sparking a firestorm of backlash against the library board.
- The review process was suspended last month.
The intrigue: Indianapolis is seeing a resurgence of local bookstores opening with a focus on titles by and about Black and LGBTQ+ people, the IndyStar reports.