Library Organization: Book Ban Attempts Hit Record High in 2022
2023-03-26
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1The American Library Association (ALA) released a new report Thursday about book banning in the country.
2It found attempted book bans and information restrictions at school and public libraries continue to increase, setting a record in 2022.
3The report says there were 1,200 known challenges in 2022.
4That is almost double the number from the year before, and it had also been record setting.
5The ALA began collecting the data 20 years ago.
6"I've never seen anything like this," says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom.
7She said the last two years have been frightening, tiring, and angering.
8The report also says the way restrictions are requested has changed.
9A few years ago, challenges were usually from parents and community members concerned about an individual book, the ALA says.
10Now, the requests are often for several removals, and organized by national groups such as Moms for Liberty.
11Their goal is "unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government."
12Last year, more than 2,500 different books were objected to, compared to 1,858 in 2021 and just 566 in 2019.
13In many cases, hundreds of books were challenged in a single request.
14The ALA bases its findings on media accounts and voluntary reporting from libraries.
15It says the numbers might be far higher.
16Librarians around the country have told of being harassed and threatened with violence or legal action.
17Caldwell-Stone says that some books have been targeted because of racist language.
18But she says the majority of requests for removal are for works with LGBTIQA+ or racial themes.
19Bills easing the restriction of books have been proposed or passed in Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, among other states.
20In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has approved laws to review reading materials and limit classroom discussion of gender identity and race.
21Books removed in Florida include John Green's Looking for Alaska, Colleen Hoover's Hopeless, and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.
22DeSantis has called reports of mass bannings a "hoax."
23He said earlier this month that some people "are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination."
24Some books do come back. Officials at Florida's Duval County Public Schools were widely criticized after they removed Roberto Clemente: The Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
25It is a children's book about of the late baseball star from Puerto Rico.
26In February, they announced the book would again be available, explaining they had needed to examine it and make sure it did not violate any state laws.
27I'm Gregory Stachel.
1The American Library Association (ALA) released a new report Thursday about book banning in the country. It found attempted book bans and information restrictions at school and public libraries continue to increase, setting a record in 2022. 2The report says there were 1,200 known challenges in 2022. That is almost double the number from the year before, and it had also been record setting. 3The ALA began collecting the data 20 years ago. 4"I've never seen anything like this," says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. She said the last two years have been frightening, tiring, and angering. 5The report also says the way restrictions are requested has changed. A few years ago, challenges were usually from parents and community members concerned about an individual book, the ALA says. 6Now, the requests are often for several removals, and organized by national groups such as Moms for Liberty. Their goal is "unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government." 7Last year, more than 2,500 different books were objected to, compared to 1,858 in 2021 and just 566 in 2019. In many cases, hundreds of books were challenged in a single request. 8The ALA bases its findings on media accounts and voluntary reporting from libraries. It says the numbers might be far higher. 9Librarians around the country have told of being harassed and threatened with violence or legal action. 10Caldwell-Stone says that some books have been targeted because of racist language. But she says the majority of requests for removal are for works with LGBTIQA+ or racial themes. 11Bills easing the restriction of books have been proposed or passed in Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, among other states. 12In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has approved laws to review reading materials and limit classroom discussion of gender identity and race. Books removed in Florida include John Green's Looking for Alaska, Colleen Hoover's Hopeless, and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. 13DeSantis has called reports of mass bannings a "hoax." He said earlier this month that some people "are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination." 14Some books do come back. Officials at Florida's Duval County Public Schools were widely criticized after they removed Roberto Clemente: The Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is a children's book about of the late baseball star from Puerto Rico. 15In February, they announced the book would again be available, explaining they had needed to examine it and make sure it did not violate any state laws. 16I'm Gregory Stachel. 17Hillel Italie reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 18____________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20library - n. a place where books, magazines, and other materials (such as videos and musical recordings) are available for people to use or borrow 21challenge - v. to say or show that (something) may not be true, correct, or legal 22harass - v. to annoy or bother (someone) in a constant or repeated way 23LGBTIQA+ - n. used to mean Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer 24theme - n. the main subject that is being discussed or described in a piece of writing, a movie 25gender - n. the state of being male or female 26hoax - n. an act that is meant to trick or deceive people 27indoctrinate - v. to teach (someone) to fully accept the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of a particular group and to not consider other ideas, opinions, and beliefs 28____________________________________________________________________ 29What do you think of this story? 30We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 31Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.