Censorship

Readers had their say about "Dictionaries on the Chopping Block," the latest Scales on Censorship column, and more.

A federal judge ruled that a lawsuit brought by And Tango Makes Three authors and a student against a Florida school district can proceed; civil rights icon Ruby Bridges speaks out against censors; and more news on legal battles and library-related legislative actions continue across the country.

Fearing book removal or losing their jobs, library professionals conceal bare butts and other exposed body parts in picture books.

A proposal in Nevada would move all LGBTQIA+ books into their own section of public libraries; Florida makes principals responsible for book restrictions; Utah schools removing books ahead of a new law going into effect on July 1; and more.

A PTA president seeks to cull dictionaries featuring “offensive words”; a parent inquires about safe ways her LGBTQIA+ son can fight censorship; a school board expresses no confidence in librarians to make book selection decisions.

Teens signing up for the Books Unbanned program at Brooklyn and Seattle Public Libraries shared their reasons for wanting the library card, while some of their peers discussed the impact of blocked websites, and an expert panel in Pennsylvania discussed the harm caused by restricting access to books.

In our last round of reviews of banned classics, SLJ and NCTE cover two of Jane Austen's works, the timely Fahrenheit 451, and the heartbreaking I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.

The report released today examines more than 4,000 book bans in 52 public school districts in 23 states from July to December 2023. 

Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks have joined Penguin Random House and other plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the state of Iowa.