Library challenges surge
- Reports show book challenges surged in libraries, fueling national debate over censorship and access. - The American Library Association recorded 4,235 titles challenged in 2025, the second‑highest year on record. - About 40% of those challenges involved LGBTQ+ subjects or people-of-color experiences, and the ALA published a top-11 list ( ).
Libraries across the United States faced 4,235 book-title challenges in 2025, the American Library Association said on April 20, the second-highest total it has ever recorded. (ala.org) The association said that total was five titles below the 2023 record of 4,240 and far above the 2001-2020 annual average of 273 unique titles. It counted 713 attempts to censor library materials and services in 2025, including 487 challenges aimed at books. (ala.org) The American Library Association said 5,668 books were removed from libraries in 2025 and another 920 were restricted through steps such as relocation or parental-permission rules. Its Office for Intellectual Freedom said that was the highest one-year total for censorship actions and the highest share of challenges ending in censorship since 1990. (ala.org) The group’s data points to who is filing the complaints. It said 92% of 2025 library book challenges came from pressure groups, government officials, and other decision makers, up from 72% in 2024, while less than 3% came from individual parents. (ala.org) The books most often challenged show what kinds of stories are being targeted. The American Library Association said 1,671 challenged titles in 2025 — about 40% — involved the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color. (ala.org) Its 2025 top list put *Sold* by Patricia McCormick at No. 1, followed by *The Perks of Being a Wallflower* by Stephen Chbosky and *Gender Queer: A Memoir* by Maia Kobabe. Other titles included *Empire of Storms*, *Last Night at the Telegraph Club*, *Tricks*, *A Court of Thorns and Roses*, *A Clockwork Orange*, *Identical*, *Looking for Alaska*, and *Storm and Fury*. (nhpr.org) The American Library Association’s figures cover public, school, and academic libraries, and it draws from reports filed by library workers and from news coverage. The group says its totals are still a snapshot because many challenges are never reported publicly or sent to the association. (ala.org) A separate count from PEN America shows the pressure is also heavy in public schools. PEN America said it documented 6,870 instances of book bans during the 2024-2025 school year across 23 states and 87 public school districts, in a campaign it says has continued for four school years. (pen.org) The fight now is over who gets to decide what stays on shelves. Libraries are reporting near-record challenge totals, while national advocacy groups and elected officials keep pushing the dispute from local stacks into statehouses, school boards, and courtrooms. (ala.org)
