To kick off Banned Books Week, the American Library Association (ALA) released on September 23 preliminary data documenting attempts to censor books and materials in public, school, and academic libraries during the first eight months of 2024.
Between January 1 and August 31, 2024, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) tracked 414 attempts to censor library materials and services. In those cases, 1,128 unique titles were challenged. In the same reporting period last year, ALA tracked 695 attempts with 1,915 unique titles challenged.
The number of reports to date has declined in 2024, but the number of documented attempts to censor books far exceeds the numbers prior to 2020. Instances of soft censorship— where books are purchased but placed in restricted areas, not used in library displays, or otherwise hidden or kept off limits due to fear of challenges—show the impact of organized censorship campaigns on students’ and readers’ freedom to read. In some circumstances, books are being excluded from library collections, taken off the shelves before they are banned, or not purchased for library collections in the first place.
“As these preliminary numbers show, we must continue to stand up for libraries and challenge censorship wherever it occurs,” ALA President Cindy Hohl said in a statement. “We know library professionals throughout the country are committed to preserving our freedom to choose what we read and what our children read, even though many librarians face criticism and threats to their livelihood and safety. We urge everyone to join librarians in defending the freedom to read. 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.”
Censorship by the numbers
OIF compiles data on book challenges from reports by library professionals and from news stories published throughout the United States. Because many book challenges are not reported to ALA or covered by the press, the 2024 data represents only a snapshot of book censorship throughout the first eight months of the year.
You can learn more about attempts to ban books and inhibit the freedom to read in the United States with the handy infographics of 2023 data compiled by OIF below.
You can find even more information about Banned Books Week programming, book bans, and challenges support at ala.org/bbooks and bannedBooksWeek.org.
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