Everyday books are still being challenged and removed from shelves, libraries, classrooms and reading lists across the USA. Challenged and removed books mean that somewhere a child can no longer access that book. Challenged books nearly always include content about marginalized groups. Removal of these books remove a child's sense of inclusion and belonging.
This is a direct attack on our intellectual freedoms, First Amendment Rights, and having a democratic society.
The most obvious reason why book banning is bad is that it is a form of censorship, the suppression of ideas or information. The First Amendment protects citizens against censorship by the government.
Democracy requires educated members of society who can think for themselves to elect leaders who reflect their vaules. Limiting the information available, especially only allowing any specific ideology goes against the very principles the U.S. was founded upon, . Throughout history, censorship has always been one of the first steps to rising authoritarian and tyrannist regimes, where one group or set of ideas is used to oppress all others.
In an age where much of our infomation comes to us through "bubbles" that confirm any biases we might have, books can help expose us to ideas we might not otherwise come across in our personal feeds or biased news sources. LImiting ourselves to one view willl harm us in an ever-changing global society.
The U.S. is a country where people of diverse beliefs and backgrounds have come together yet the stories presented by books and movies are often way less diverse than the populations we see around us. As a result, people with different lived experiences can feel outcast and alone. A lack of diverse people, places, and experiences harms those who are missing from the narrative as well as those who aren't exposed to other stories. Representation matters!
Research has shown that teens exposed to sex education have lower instances of teen pregnancy. Queer teens are less likely to attempt suicide if they are exposed to LGBTQ+ representation in books and media. Hate crimes against racial and religious groups are lower when people have greater exposure to positive messages about other cultures. Inclusive curricula leads to better academic performance and better health and wellbeing for students of many backgrounds,
Current state of the USA (Learn more about Banned Books):
Facing Challenges (how can we respond?):
See all of the books listed on ALA's top 100 lists currently available in the CSULB Library:
Most challenged book 2021
