Banned & Challenged Books: The Freedom to Read

Censorship

"Censorship, the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are "offensive," happens whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on others. Censorship can be carried out by the government as well as private pressure groups. Censorship by the (U. S.) government is unconstitutional"

- From The American Civil Liberties Union, 2019 linked below.

The Challenging and Banning of Books = Censorship

The censorship, or attempted censorship, of books and other materials falls under four general categories. We often use the word "banned" too loosely - in fact while groups who would like to ban books can be pretty noisy in their challenges, their efforts at actual banning are often unsuccessful or ineffective, and of course completely ineffective in the bigger picture; books are always available through one means or another - it is possible that challenge groups know this, and their attempts at banning specific books are about something other than actually banning a particular book. Take a look at the differences in censorship terms below:

1. Challenges (the most common in the US):

"A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others" (ALA, 2019). Thousands of books and other materials have been challenged in libraries and schools, too numerous to list here. Many people misapply the word "banned", using it to refer to books that are "challenged." Still, in the United States as a whole, challenges rarely lead to full bans.

2. Restricted access (less common in the US):

This is a compromise a school or library might offer in the face of aggressive efforts to ban a book. Restriction limits access to lessor or greater degrees: Least restrictive: The restricted book is held in storage but anyone can check it out if they ask for it specifically. Most restrictive: The student or patron must be of a minimum age in order to be able to check out a restricted book, or must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to check it out.

3. Banning (even less common in the US):

Banning is the most extreme result of an aggressive challenge. The book or other material is removed from a classroom or a library (or in some cases an entire country if its government challenges a book). Even though banning is still rare in the United States as a whole, it is significantly on the rise in some parts of the country. 

(click on the image to enlarge)

More Infographics

See all infographics over time from 2014 - 2019 using the link below

Stories of Challenges

"Sanitized" or "treated"?

If not challenged or banned, censorship is available in many different flavors!