The American Library Association (ALA) reported that a lot of books were questioned at schools and public libraries in 2023.
On Thursday, the ALA stated that there were 4,240 different book titles singled out for censorship in 2023, an increase of 65 percent from the previous high in 2022.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who runs ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, said that the campaigns to ban books are continuing based on reports from librarians and educators.
Out of the 4,000+ books targeted for censorship, 1,247 demands were made to remove library books, materials, and resources, according to ALA.
The organization noted four trends in 2023, including increased censorship efforts against public libraries.
Efforts to target titles in public libraries rose by 92 percent in 2023, while in school libraries, the increase was 11 percent.
According to ALA, groups frequently focused on dozens to hundreds of books at once, with 47 percent of the targeted books pertaining to people of color or the LGBTQ community.
More than 100 book titles were challenged in 17 states, such as Colorado, Connecticut, and Florida.
ALA mentioned that the number of reported challenges may not reflect the full scale of book censorship, as some cases may end with the book staying in the collection or being restricted or removed from the library.
The ALA has previously launched “Unite Against Book Bans” to combat these efforts and will reveal the most censored books on April 8 during National Library Week's Right to Read Day.
