A new report has shown that the number of attempts to ban books at US schools and public libraries reached a record high in 2022. The American Library Association (ALA) released the damning report on Thursday stating more than 1,200 challenges were raised to ban books which was nearly double the figure achieved in 2021.
The outrage regarding the political discourse had translated into books and literature feeling the heat of it. ALA, which started record keeping of the challenges 20 years ago stated that while most requests earlier used to be raised by parents and community members to remove a particular book, the trend had changed significantly.
The report noted that influential conservative groups were batting for the removal of multiple books nowadays. Most books containing LGBTQIA themes or racial undertones were targetted for the censorship drive.
“Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA community and people of color. Overwhelmingly, we’re seeing these challenges come from organised censorship groups that target local library board meetings to demand removal of a long list of books they share on social media,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom
In total, 2,500 books were objected and requested to be banned in 2022 while the number stood at 1,858 in 2021.
The NGO added that the vast majority (86 per cent) of books targetted were children’s books while 58 per cent were books taught or available at schools.
Earlier this month, Florida’s Martin County school district removed as many as 100 books from the school shelves which included popular titles such as Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Beloved” and James Patterson’s “Maximum Ride” thrillers.
According to experts, the banning of books reflects a growing challenge in the US where the divide between Red and Blue ideologies has spilled over to academia as well as school education.
(With inputs from agencies)
