Banned Books Week Sept 25- Oct 2

Hundreds of books are challenged in schools and libraries in the United States each year. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, while a banning reflects the actual removal of those materials. The American Library Association (ALA) provides confidential support to teachers and librarians and tracks challenges that occur. ALA recorded 460 challenges in 2009 but estimates that this reflects only 20-25% of actual incidents, as most challenges are never reported. According the ALA, the majority of challenges were initiated by parents (almost exactly 48%), while patrons and administrators followed behind (10% each).

Over the past nine years, American libraries were faced with 4,312 challenges.

* 1,413 challenges due to “sexually explicit” material;
* 1,125 challenges due to “offensive language”;
* 897challenges due to material deemed “unsuited to age group”;
* 514 challenges due to “violence”
* 344 challenges due to “homosexuality”
* 109 materials were challenged because they were “anti-family,”
* 269 were challenged because of their “religious viewpoints.”

Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unothordox or unpopular. Banned Books Week stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. Intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.

This map is drawn from cases documented by ALA and the Kids' Right to Read Project, a collaboration of the National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. Details are available in ALA's "Books Banned and Challenged 2007-2008; 2008-2009; and 2009-2010,"and the "Kids' Right to Read Project Report."
View Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2010 in a larger map