Across the country, an alarming number of attempts are being made to remove books from public and school libraries. The American Library Association has found that 4,240 books were targeted for censorship in 2023, a 65% increase over the already high number of 2,571 books the year before.
A disproportionate number of the books being targeted are written by and/or about Black people and history, Indigenous people and history, other people of color, and people who identify as LGBTQ+.
There have been local movements to defund public libraries, harrassment and threats against individual librarians who have resisted censorship, and bills introduced (usually at the state level) to criminalize libraries for creating access to books that others object to.
Learn about how New York City's public libraries have been fighting back to defend everyone's freedom to read:
Books Unbanned (Brooklyn Public Library)
Banned Books Week at Queens Library.
To learn more and find out how to support anti-book-banning efforts, see United Against Book Bans (a project of the American Library Association) and the advocacy group Every Library.
