The fight against book bans is entering a new phase, as the number of bans plummets but concerns grow that librarians and teachers, looking to stay out of the fray, are self-censoring.
Data shows a surprising and significant drop in book challenges from the 2023-2024 school year to the 2024-2025 term after years of increases in bans among classrooms and libraries.
Instead, advocates trying to protect the right to read are now not only battling banned books in the courts but looking to provide legislative protections to officials who fear retaliation based on the titles picked for students.
During the 2024-2025 school year, PEN America found 6,870 instances of book bans. In the 2023-2024 school year, they hit a record high of 10,046. PEN America defines a book ban as any instance where a book is removed or access is restricted in response to a community challenge, administrative decision or threats from government officials.
“I think if you look at the official numbers that we see reported through [the American Library Association] and PEN America, they’re going to say that this issue is getting better, but unfortunately, we’re just seeing it move into what we call silent censorship … people being afraid to buy certain books or certain authors, and we’re seeing this across the industry,” said Rosie Stewart, head of public policy at Penguin Random House, the largest print and digital book publisher in the world.
A study commissioned by Virginia’s government found 35 percent of school divisions do not maintain records regarding book removals, and six of those divisions report having removed at least one book.
Reading rights advocates are looking to take preemptive approaches, such as creating legislative protections for librarians and educators to avoid the need to self-censor.
Penguin Random House and others are pushing for freedom to read laws, which were introduced in 25 states, with seven passing some protections in the 2025 legislative session.
While the laws vary, some have passed with antiretaliatory measures for teachers and librarians so they won’t get into professional trouble for defending certain books if they are challenged.
“If you relentlessly face book challenges year after year with legislation that is not clear, then a chilling effect happens, where instead of teaching America how to think, we try to teach America what to think. And so, Americans are going to start self censoring,” said Sam Helmick, president of the American Library Association (ALA), which puts on Banned Books Week each October. This year’s event runs Oct. 5-11.
The ALA found 821 attempts to censor library materials and services in 2024, compared with 1,247 attempts the previous year. ALA defines a book ban as the removal of materials due to challenges from the community.
ALA said 72 percent of challenges were done by outside “pressure groups” and a majority of censorship attempts are occurring at public libraries. Around 38 percent of these challenges are hitting school libraries.
“Often these [book] challenges are presented in long list forms and include books that are not even in the library’s catalog. … It’s difficult to really ascertain beyond like the trends, what exactly is going to get the hammer when censorship is constantly looking for a nail,” Helmick said.
Books that were at the top of the censorship list, according to ALA, include “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George Johnson and “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe. For PEN America, the top books included “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess, “Breathless” by Jennifer Niven and “Sold” by Patricia McCormick.
Book challengers have typically gone after topics involving LGBTQ themes and racism, along with concerns about obscenity for children.
Book ban opponents say one danger in the battle is the difficulty of knowing it is even occurring.
“I’m hearing stories, particularly in school libraries, of superintendents writing down titles on a Post-it note, quietly handing it to the media specialist or school librarian and then demanding both the Post-it note and those books back, and that’s not transparency, that’s not due process, that’s not the First Amendment,” Helmick said.
To combat self-censorship, community members will have to do more groundwork to discover it is happening in the first place.
“The easiest way is to request your librarian to acquire specific books, books that may be on these banned books lists or are otherwise controversial,” suggested Kris Austin, CEO of Draft2Digital, a publishing platform for self-published authors and independent presses, adding it “will be a quick way to identify that self-censorship might be happening, because you could see how they respond to those requests and it can be very illuminating.”
During Banned Books Week, events are popping up around the country to bring awareness to this topic.
Penguin Random House is coming out with “Banned Wagons” filled with challenged books in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Authors are gathering for speaking events to highlight the issue, and retailers like Bookshop.org are giving discounts for certain books during this time.
“Banned Books Week is more than just symbolic, it’s a reminder that protecting free expression requires constant vigilance and participation, so whether that’s in the classroom or the library or through platforms that help authors reach their readers, it just it’s very important to support,” Austin said.