In the weeks before National Banned Book Week (Sept. 19- 24), Missouri Legislature has made some recent moves to get more books banned in school libraries. Here's a look at book banning.
Book banning is just as it sounds: removing a book from school curriculum and/or public libraries as a result of objections to its content. Books start off by being challenged — a person or group attempts to remove or restrict access to a specific book or books on a specific topic. According to the American Library Association, the majority of book challenges are unsuccessful, though book banning is still on the rise in the U.S.
Book bans are often motivated by desires to protect others, often children, from topics considered “inappropriate,” such as material considered sexually explicit, offensive language, or materials termed “unsuited to any age group” according to ALA.
The American Library Association defines a book challenge as an attempt to remove or restrict the materials in schools or libraries based on objections from a person or group.
According to the American Library Association, a book ban means the books have been removed from schools or libraries. A ban follows the review of a challenge by a designated review board.
126
The American Library Association reported 156 challenges issued to libraries, schools and universities targeting 273 titles.
700
The American Library Association reported 729 challenges issued to libraries, schools and universities targeting 1,597 titles.
367%
250
274 books were challenged or banned in schools between January and March of 2022, according to PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans.
0
15 new books were challenged in Missouri schools between Fall 2021 and March 2022, according to PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans.
2022 is on track to continue the upward trend.
On Aug. 28, a new law related to book banning went into effect in the state of Missouri. The new law makes it a Class A misdemeanor for school officials, public or private, to provide certain visually and sexually “explicit” books and materials in school libraries.
The new law is an amendment to Senate Bill 775, which aims to strengthen protections against sexual exploitation of minors and protect the identity of victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in court proceedings.
Under the amendment, schools found to have books deemed visually and sexually “explicit” would face a year in jail or a $2,000 fine.
The Missouri Library Association said in a statement that “Obscenity laws like that put into place by SB 775 are simply a means to block access to truth. Visual art, like the written word, is a means by which society views itself through the lens of the author or artist. In this case, it is obvious that certain perspectives are being censored as a means to suppress the vitality and freedom of the reader’s intellectual life.”
Challenged and Banned Books display at the Columbia Public Library Sept. 15 in Columbia.