The American Library Association documented 1269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022. That is almost double the 729 books challenges reported in 2021. From January 1 – August 31, there have already been 695 attempts to censor library materials and challenges to 1915 unique titles.
Alarmingly, the majority of challenges in school libraries were filed by just 11 people and these challenges overwhelmingly targeted books featuring LGBTQIA+, Trans, or characters of color or which deal with race or racism.
As an academic library, we collect books across all content areas and we stand by public and school libraries in support of offering materials that support their entire communities.
The top 13 most challenged books of 2022 are:
- GenderQueer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- Flamer by Mike Curato
- Looking for Alaska by John Green
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
- A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
- Crank by Ellen Hopkins
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
- This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
How can you help? Show up and speak out against book bans in your community. The ALA campaign Unite Against Book Bans has news and resources to support you.