Book censorship slows but remains stubbornly high in 2024, American Library Association says

Between January 1 and August 31, there were 414 attempts to censor library materials or services across the country, according to the American Library Association.

Two reports released Monday provide a mixed but compelling outlook on the wave of book removals and challenges as the annual Banned Books Week begins for schools, stores and libraries nationwide.

The American Library Association found a substantial drop in 2024 so far in complaints about books stocked in public, school and academic libraries, and in the number of books receiving objections. Meanwhile, PEN America is documenting an explosion in books being removed from school shelves in 2023-24, tripling to more than 10,000 over the previous year. More than 8,000 were pulled just in Florida and Iowa, where laws restricting the content of books have been passed.

The two surveys don’t necessarily contradict each other.

Efforts to censor books in public libraries in the United States have skyrocketed in the past four years, but the ALA’s new report shows that the pace has slowed in the first eight months of the year.

From Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, there were 414 reported attempts to censor library materials or services across the country, with 1,128 different titles criticized, compared with 695 similar challenges involving 1,915 books during the same period last year, according to a preliminary report released Monday by the association.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/book-censorship-2024-lgbtq-race-rcna172033

---