April 8 (UPI) — Gender Queer, a memoir by LGBTQ author Maia Kobabe was the most challenged book at public libraries in the United States last year, according to the American Library Association in a statement that launched National Library Week.
The ALA released its Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2023 along with its State of America’s Libraries Report. The report reveals the actions libraries and their employees have taken to address community needs with innovative services and censorship attempts.
“In looking at the titles of the most challenged books from last year, it’s obvious that the pressure groups are targeting books about LGBTQIA+ people and people of color,” ALA President Emily Drabinski said.
“At ALA, we are fighting for the freedom to choose what you want to read. Shining a light on the harmful workings of these pressure groups is one of the actions we must take to protect our right to read.”
The books that made the list include Gender Queer by Maia Kobaba; All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson; This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson; The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky; Flamer by Mike Carato; The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison; Tricks by Ellen Hopkins; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews; Let’s Talk About It by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan; and Sold by Patricia McCormick.
“These are books that contain the ideas, the opinions, and the voices that censors want to silence – stories by and about LGBTQ+ persons and people of color,” Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom said.
Conservative groups like Moms for Liberty and some GOP legislators have rallied around banning and challenging books around the country themes of LGBTQ+ and racial themes.
The challenged book list follows a report by the ALA last year that pointed out that the number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries nearly doubled in 2023 from the year before. The surge in banned book demands increased by 92% while rising 11% at school libraries.
