Efforts to Ban Books Nearly Doubled in 2022, Report Finds

Attempts to ban books in U.S. libraries nearly doubled in 2022 from a year earlier, according to a new report from the American Library Association.

The organization said Thursday it identified 1,269 efforts to censor books and resources in libraries last year. That is the most recorded in the more than two decades the American Library Association has tracked these trends, and a jump from 729 in 2021. 

The report captures a glimpse of what many libraries and schools are experiencing as some parents, legislators and conservative groups aim to remove books they view as inappropriate. The organization found 2,571 titles were under scrutiny in 2022—the majority of which focused on or were written by LGBT individuals and people of color.