Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
According to the American Library Association there were over 1200 book challenges in 2022, representing 2571 unique titles . Many of the recent challenges come from groups and organizations and target books about race, racism, and books with LGBTQ+ themes. Schools and libraries should ensure that they have current collection development and reconsideration policies in place.
Following is a selected list of books from Maxwell Library's catalog that have been banned or challenged in the United States.
Search for your favorite banned book here!
Or request a free Brooklyn Public Library ecard to get access to their full ebook collection. Available to those between the ages of 13-21 through their Books Unbanned initiative
These works will provide more information about book banning and censorship.
Judith Krug (1940-2009) founder of Banned Books Week