Book bans still climbing
- The American Library Association says book bans and attempted bans remain at record highs nationwide. - An AP‑based report cited in recent coverage lists 'Sold' as the title topping the targeted list. - Libraries and publishers are continuing legal, policy, and community strategies in response to sustained censorship pressure. (greenevillesun.com)
Book challenges in U.S. libraries and schools stayed near record levels in 2025, with 4,235 unique titles targeted nationwide. (ala.org) The American Library Association released the new count on April 20, 2026, saying 2025 was the second-highest year it has ever documented, just behind 2023’s 4,240 titles. Its Office for Intellectual Freedom also logged 713 attempts to censor library materials and services, including 487 efforts aimed at books. (ala.org) Patricia McCormick’s *Sold* ranked No. 1 on the association’s 2025 most-challenged list, followed by *The Perks of Being a Wallflower* and *Gender Queer*. The group said 1,671 of the challenged titles, or 40%, reflected the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color. (ala.org) The pattern has shifted from isolated parent complaints to organized campaigns. The association said about 91.7% of challenged titles in 2025 were targeted by pressure groups and government decision-makers, while parents accounted for 2.7% and individual library users for 1.4%. (ala.org) That change had already been visible a year earlier. In its April 7, 2025 report on 2024 data, the American Library Association said 72% of censorship demands came from pressure groups and government entities, and the 120 most-targeted titles all appeared on partisan book-rating sites used by activists. (ala.org) The response has moved into courtrooms as well as school board meetings. In May 2023, PEN America, Penguin Random House, authors, parents, and students sued Florida’s Escambia County School District, arguing that book removals violated First Amendment and equal-protection rights. (pen.org) That Florida litigation survived an early dismissal bid. PEN America said Judge T. Kent Wetherell, in January 2024, denied the district’s motion to dismiss the First Amendment claims and rejected the argument that book removals were protected government speech. (pen.org) A separate Florida case produced a broader ruling in August 2025. Publishers Weekly reported that U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza ruled for the plaintiffs in *Penguin Random House v. Gibson*, finding multiple unconstitutional applications of House Bill 1069 and writing that several removed books were not obscene. (publishersweekly.com) Iowa remains another major front. PEN America said a federal judge blocked enforcement of part of the state’s 2023 book-ban law, Senate File 496, and the state appealed after the law had led to the removal of more than 3,000 books from school libraries. (pen.org) Schools have also kept pulling books while those cases play out. Publishers Weekly reported in August 2025 that nine Florida counties had removed hundreds of titles before the 2025-26 school year because officials feared action from the state Board of Education and attorney general’s office. (publishersweekly.com) For 2026, the numbers show the pressure has not broken. Libraries, publishers, authors, and parents are still fighting the same battles on shelves, in legislatures, and in federal court. (ala.org)
