Banning books in schools and libraries is not slowing down, according to a new report by PEN America.
The free-speech organization said in its report released last week, “Banned in the USA: Narrating the Crisis,” that 4,300 books were banned from schools in 23 states from July to December last year. That’s more than for the entire 2022-2023 school year.
The report documents bans in red and blue states, but book challenges are rare in California, and Rio has not seen any books banned from shelves or curriculums. However, teachers are concerned about what they see as the harm that bans cause.
Teacher librarian Laura Fierro believes that the increase in book banning diminishes students’ ability to learn about the world.
“Any time students are not reading, I think their opportunity to learn is damaged,” Fierro said. “It doesn’t matter what book they’re reading. If they’re not reading, they’re not learning.”
Book challenges have been fueled by groups like Moms for Liberty, which approach school districts and boards with complaints about books seen as “obscene” or inappropriate for children, which often discuss topics like gender and race.
Fierro said that one parent’s opinion does not dictate what goes into the library.
“To me, if one parent doesn’t want their kid to read a book, that’s fine,” Fierro said. “I’ll respect that. I don’t think that it’s fair for that one parent to say what other students can read.”
Sabrina Baêta, Freedom to Read program manager at PEN America and a lead author of the report, said she was concerned that bans often target books about identity and important social issues.
“For anyone who cares about the bedrock of American values and the protection of free expression, this report should be a red alert,” said Sabrina Baêta. “Book bans are targeting narratives about race and sexual identities and sexual content writ large, and they show no sign of stopping. The bans we’re seeing are broad, harsh, and pernicious–and they’re undermining the education of millions of students across the country.”
Karina Brown • May 24, 2024 at 12:04 PM
This increase should be alarming, and shows a very bad trend of censorship in our schools. Schools and libraries are supposed to be open places for learning, hearing opinions even if we don’t agree with them. I understand if some parents dont want their kids to be exposed to hard subjects at a young age, but at a certian point you cant shield them from knowledge.
Kade • May 22, 2024 at 9:08 AM
The increase in book bans surprised me. I like the graphs this article included, I think it portrays the message well. Book bans seem to be a political tool, and this type of censorship should not allowed.
Dean • May 20, 2024 at 8:49 PM
I disagree with the banning of books. Although there is explicit content within some of them, they all serve some kind of educational value which can be beneficial.
Evan Nguyen • May 20, 2024 at 11:31 AM
I believe that the banning of books in certain states will be detrimental to the people. Book bans will lead to increasingly close-minded people who have missed out on opportunities to learn from books with a possibly new perspective.
David • May 20, 2024 at 10:04 AM
This article brought the issue of banning books to my attention very effectively by using numbers. I assumed we had mostly just banned books in the past, so it’s shocking that it’s still happening. Books should not be banned because they are how we can learn about the world. Banning books seems like it would lead to a very closed minded country lacking in diversity of ideas because it would take away from an important step of finding yourself: exploration.
Grant E • May 19, 2024 at 11:32 PM
This piece gives me a good idea of the impact of book bannings and their origin. It sucks that because some people don’t want their kids to read a certain book that then no one can read it. it’s great that this hasn’t happened at rio and I hope it never will.
Volod • May 19, 2024 at 11:03 PM
Well-written article. I agree that books shouldn’t be banned. No matter their contents, every book has some learning relevance and should be kept on shelves.
Audrey • May 19, 2024 at 8:51 PM
Banning books seems like a crazy idea. While it makes since that some topics are taboo in today’s society, I don’t think that banning them would be the best way to combat the issue. If we start banning too many books it will be a “Fahrenheit 451” situation where chaos will take place. If a book doesn’t match up with what you believe, don’t read it.
NP • May 19, 2024 at 5:46 PM
I agree that book banning is a problem. I understand why some parents are concerned with certain topics that are discussed in books; however, I think that addressing and talking about difficult things in class is beneficial to students learning.
Daphne Pannell • May 19, 2024 at 5:29 PM
I didn’t know before reading this that the number of books banned from schools has gone up recently. I wonder how many schools are impacted by book bans-whether it’s just a few schools banning a lot of books, or many schools banning a few books.
Joseph VanDenBerg • May 18, 2024 at 2:43 PM
This is a total problem. How are we supposed to form any opinions if we cannot read books that may contain opposing views? We cannot. I can understand where these parents are trying to go. They want a learning environment where their kids are not “affected” by the stories and topics within these books. I can understand the sentiment. But they are going about this in the worst way possible. Over 4,300 books were banned. That isn’t one book 4,300 times. That is 4,300 different books. It is overboard. Kids need to learn that their world is diverse and contains numerous opinions. They should be able to do so. But by banning these books, you force these kids into living in echo chambers. That is not fair to them or our society. We also have a highly polarized society as well, so more kids who are overly and unfairly political will not help our situation in the slightest bit. Thus, we need to stop banning books, as society and our future rests on it.
Matteo • May 6, 2024 at 9:10 PM
Good op-ed. It would be nice if you had mentioned the alarming lack of books in our own library at Rio.