SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
EXPLORE +
  • About infoDOCKET
  • Academic Libraries on LJ
  • Research on LJ
  • News on LJ
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Libraries
    • Academic Libraries
    • Government Libraries
    • National Libraries
    • Public Libraries
  • Companies (Publishers/Vendors)
    • EBSCO
    • Elsevier
    • Ex Libris
    • Frontiers
    • Gale
    • PLOS
    • Scholastic
  • New Resources
    • Dashboards
    • Data Files
    • Digital Collections
    • Digital Preservation
    • Interactive Tools
    • Maps
    • Other
    • Podcasts
    • Productivity
  • New Research
    • Conference Presentations
    • Journal Articles
    • Lecture
    • New Issue
    • Reports
  • Topics
    • Archives & Special Collections
    • Associations & Organizations
    • Awards
    • Funding
    • Interviews
    • Jobs
    • Management & Leadership
    • News
    • Patrons & Users
    • Preservation
    • Profiles
    • Publishing
    • Roundup
    • Scholarly Communications
      • Open Access

May 23, 2022 by Gary Price

New Data From NPD Finds “Press Coverage of ‘Antiracist Baby’ and Other Banned Books Led to Increased Sales”

May 23, 2022 by Gary Price

From NPD:

The number of books banned last year in various states in the U.S. reached the highest levels in the history of tracking by The American Library Association. In the public square, the surge in bans and community challenges against specific titles, like “Maus,” “Antiracist Baby,” and “Gender Queer” have been covered widely by the media. According to The NPD Group, these types of challenges, and the media attention surrounding them, led to significant sales increases for these books.

“When a book finds itself at the top of a national news story because it has received a challenge, sales go up,” said Kristen McLean, books industry analyst for NPD. “But that doesn’t translate into an overall sales boost for other banned books. It’s the immediacy of the story, and viewers’ reaction to it, that drives increased sales. It is also likely that many consumers don’t know what books have been widely banned beyond the current title at the top of the press coverage.”

The following books were among those that have recently made national headlines after being challenged or banned, resulting in significant sales spikes as the story was amplified by the press:

  • Noted by the American Library Association as having the most challenges in the U.S., “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” by Maia Kolbabe, experienced significant growth after the controversy surrounding the book was covered in newspapers in May. With total U.S. print book sales volume of 25,000 units, sales spiked by 1,900 units (130% over prior week) for the week ending May 7, 2022.
  • After it was banned by a Tennessee school board in February 2022, sales of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Maus I” and “Maus II”, by Art Spiegelman, jumped 34,200 units (50% higher than the prior week).  Sales for the combined titles have reached 1.2 million units since NPD BookScan began tracking books in 2004.
  • Sales of “Antiracist Baby,” by Ibram X. Kendi, increased by 14,500 units during the week ending April 2, 2022, after Texas Senator Ted Cruz criticized it during a Supreme Court hearing. Total lifetime book sales have reached 303,000.
  • “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” by George M. Johnson, sales increased by 1,900 units, during the week ending February 12, 2022. The book, which has sold more than 37,000 copies overall, had been banned in public libraries in eight states.

As part of its research into recently banned books, NPD found that sales data for a longer list of previously banned titles, beyond those prominently covered in headlines, was a mixed bag.  “Within this sample, only half exhibited a sales increase, suggesting it is the news cycle that is driving sales rather than a wider consumer protest,” McLean said.

Case Study: Dr. Seuss Sales Benefited from the News Cycle

Dr. Seuss Enterprises released a statement in March of last year that six books by Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) would no longer be published, to ensure the catalog “represents and supports all communities and families.” The statement was sent during Dr. Seuss Week, a national children’s reading celebration that coincides with Theodor Geisel’s birthday on March 2. The news had a significant effect on the sales volume for Dr. Seuss titles, as consumers reacted to a perceived “cancellation” of Dr. Seuss generally. The net effect was a major boost for juvenile fiction across the entire month of March, which sold more than 10 million additional units, compared to February 2021.

Filed under: Data Files, Libraries, News, Public Libraries

SHARE:

About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@mediasourceinc.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. Before launching INFOdocket, Price and Shirl Kennedy were the founders and senior editors at ResourceShelf and DocuTicker for 10 years. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com, and is currently a contributing editor at Search Engine Land.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Job Zone

ADVERTISEMENT

Recent Articles on LJ

Delaware to Expand Statewide Telehealth Program | ALA Annual 2022

Governance Transformation Picks Up Steam | ALA Annual 2022

Jane Austen: Books and Beyond | Your Home Librarian

Tour de France: A Watching, Reading, and Listening Guide | Your Home Librarian

Proud Boys Disrupt Drag Queen Story Time at San Lorenzo Library

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Infodocket Posts

Listen Online: A Conversation with Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden (The Daily Record’s Women’s Perspectives Podcast)

From The Daily Record: Circle of Excellence winner – opens in new tab” data-uw-rm-ext-link=””>Circle of Excellence winner Carla Hayden reveals lessons learned from her 23 years as CEO of the ...

Research Tools: US Census Releases Major Updates to "My Community Explorer"

From the US Census: Today the U.S. Census Bureau announced the release of major updates to the data explorer tool, My Community Explorer (MCE). MCE is an interactive, map-based tool ...

NY Times: "With Rising Book Bans, Librarians Have Come Under Attack"

From The NY Times: As highly visible and politicized book bans have exploded across the country, librarians — accustomed to being seen as dedicated public servants in their communities — ...

Montana: State Library Commission Votes Down Proposed Prism Logo, Some Commissioners Said the Image Resembled an LGBTQ Pride...

From the Montana Free Press: Commissioners for the Montana State Library voted Tuesday to reject a redesigned logo for the agency, weeks after some commissioners raised concerns that the logo’s ...

Video Recording of "Banning Books" Panel Discussion at 2022 Aspen Ideas Festival

The video embedded below was recorded on June 30, 2022. From the Aspen Institute: Whom do we trust to tell us what to read and, perhaps more importantly, should we ...

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Announces Extraordinary Elections 2022 Results For President-Elect and Treasurer

From an IFLA Blog Post: We are pleased to announce the following results of IFLA’s Extraordinary Elections 2022, which determine the key  posts of President-elect and Treasurer. President-elect: Vicki McDonald ...

Motherboard Report: "Libraries Are Becoming a Battleground For LGBTQ+ People"

From Motherboard: There has been a swift escalation of LGBTQ-related attacks on libraries in recent months, turning typically quiet public spaces into political battlegrounds at a time of growing hostility ...

Research Tools: Our World in Data Releases "Democracy Data Explorer"

From the Our World in Data Website: Explore the world’s political systems with the leading approaches of measuring democracy. Direct to Democracy Data Explorer See Also: Download the Complete Democracy ...

Canada's Bestselling Books by Province and Territory; NLM Responds to Librarians’ Open Letter re: MeSH Term Changes; an...

Canada’s Bestselling Books by Province and Territory (Booknet Canada) Changing the Academic Gender Narrative through Open Access (via Publications) NLM Responds to Librarians’ Open Letter re: MeSH Term Changes (Medical ...

Fast Facts: The Fourth of July: 2022

From the U.S. Census: On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As ...

Research Article: "Exploring User Experience in Digital Libraries Through Questionnaire and Eye-Tracking Data"

The article linked below was recently published by Library & Information Science Research. Title Exploring User Experience in Digital Libraries Through Questionnaire and Eye-Tracking Data Authors Maja Kuhar University of ...

Journal Article: "Click Me…! The Influence of Clickbait on User Engagement in Social Media and the Role of...

The article linked below was recently published by PLoS One. Title Click Me…! The Influence of Clickbait on User Engagement in Social Media and the Role of Digital Nudging Authors ...

ADVERTISEMENT

FOLLOW INFODOCKET ON TWITTER

Tweets by @infodocket

ADVERTISEMENT

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • Programs+
  • Design
  • Leadership
  • People
  • COVID-19
  • Advocacy
  • Opinion
  • INFOdocket
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Booklists
  • Prepub Alert
  • Book Pulse
  • Media
  • Readers' Advisory
  • Self-Published Books
  • Review Submissions
  • Review for LJ

Awards

  • Library of the Year
  • Librarian of the Year
  • Movers & Shakers 2022
  • Paralibrarian of the Year
  • Best Small Library
  • Marketer of the Year
  • All Awards Guidelines
  • Community Impact Prize

Resources

  • LJ Index/Star Libraries
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies

Events & PD

  • Online Courses
  • In-Person Events
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Submit Features/News
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Careers at MSI


© 2022 Library Journal. All rights reserved.


© 2022 Library Journal. All rights reserved.