2023 Preliminary Data
School Library Journal reports that the American Library Association has released the following preliminary data on 2023 Book Bans.
Between January 1 and August 31, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom reported:
- Documented challenges to 1,915 unique titles (a 20 percent increase from 2022)
- 695 attempts to censor library materials and services
- Most challenges were to books written by or about a person of color or a member of the LGBTQIA+ community
- Cases documenting a challenge to 100 or more books were reported in 11 states, compared to six during the same reporting period in 2022 and zero in 2021.
- Record surge of challenges in public libraries.
Read the SLJ News & Features article here, it includes the full ALA Press Release.