The Process  

Book bans begin with challenges. They are the formal attempt to remove or restrict access to materials. This could look like submitting a formal complaint, which some public and school libraries have forms for.  According to “Banned & Challenged Books,” common reasons books are being challenged include: 

Despite these reasons, the challenges are aimed at titles that address issues such as race, racism, LGBTQ+ identities, and characters of color. “Banned in the USA: Beyond the Shelves,” found that challenges successful in school book bans often contained topics such as sex-related content, race and racism, LGBTQ+ people and characters, and people and characters of color. The Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2024 from ALA featured LGBTQ+ characters, characters of color, and claim to have sexually explicit content or drug use. 

The Goal 

The ultimate goal of a challenge is to ban books. This refers to the book being removed from the shelf by groups presenting a challenge and winning, restricting perspectives and ideas. Some states, like Illinois, have laws prohibiting book bans in public libraries like House Bill 2789 (Eberle, 2024). But other states are not granted protection. South Carolina, under Regulation 43-170, has the most mandated banned books for all public schools. They have a list of titles that have been challenged and taken off the school library shelves according to PEN America’s report.  

It’s important to note that a true book ban would mean the government mandates the title illegal and ceases publishing and selling of it. It would also mean removing it from those in possession of it (McCluskey & Akyol, 2023). The U.S. government have yet to mandate true book bans, but localized bans and increasing political support for censorship is cause for concern. These actions are impacting readers, authors, educators, and librarians across the country. Therefore, it is important to have weeks dedicated to this cause and to defend your right to read.