NPR Report: “Local Libraries Have Become a Major Political and Cultural Battleground”

From National Public Radio:

…Across America, fractious debates over free speech in public and school libraries have turned these hushed realms into combat zones. Cops are regularly called to remove rowdy protestors.

Texas leads the country in book bans. In the towns of Katy and Granbury, uniformed peace officers came into school libraries to investigate books with sexual content after criminal complaints from citizens. And the school district in Keller, Texas, pulled 41 challenged books off its shelves, including a graphic adaptation of “Anne Frank’s Diary,” “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” and the Bible.

Traditional-values groups are demanding the removal or restriction of books with explicit sex education, and books that unflinchingly document LGBTQ realities and the Black American experience. The American Library Association — in its unofficial tally — reports that challenges of library books have jumped fourfold, from 416 books in 2017 to 1,597 book challenges in 2021.

Learn More, Listen/Read to the Complete Report

Filed under: Libraries, News, Reports, School Libraries