![]() ![]() ![]() Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was burned “as satanic” outside Christ Community Church in Alamagordo, New Mexico in 2001 (incidentally, the same year that part one of the blockbuster film adaptation, The Fellowship of the Ring, was released). Challenges to books are almost always brought by public school parents.” The lists of reasons as to why books get challenged are long and varied, but frequent topics listed by the ALA include strong language, ethnic slurs, depictions of sex or sexuality, violence, or even “moral content.” J.R.R. Newman, who teaches a course on banned books, wrote, “Book banning in the United States happens the most frequently in five places: classrooms, schools, school districts, school boards, and public libraries. In a January 28, 2022, thread on Twitter, Carnegie Mellon Professor Kathy M. At present, 46 of the top 100 have been challenged or protested at public or school libraries. ![]() Near then end of the 1990s, the Course assembled a list of selections for top novels, and the ALA notes when any of those books have been challenged for bans. The Course (now based at Columbia University) is the most prestigious program of its kind, turning out many top editors in publishing. The ALA uses the Columbia Publishing Course (formerly the Radcliffe Publishing Course) list of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century as the starting point for its “Banned and Challenged Classics” list. A banning is the removal of those materials”).When considering the question of which books have been challenged the most, it might be easier to ask, “What hasn’t been challenged?” Here’s a look at three categories: frequently challenged classics, the most challenged books of the 2000s, and the most challenged books of 2020 (the most recent year with complete data). ![]() Freedom to Read was adopted in 1953 and lists as its first proposition: “It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.” The ALA is always in the forefront of advocacy to prevent bans, and they maintain databases and lists of challenged books (according to the ALA, “a challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. The LBR was drafted in 1939 and includes, in its third article, a stance against censorship. Some of the organization’s guiding principles are articulated in both the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement. A non-profit founded in 1876, the ALA promotes libraries and library education it’s the oldest such group in the world. The leading authority on tracking book bans and challenges in the United States is the American Library Association. Such a recurring cycle poses two questions: what are the most frequently banned or challenged books in the United States, and why? (Shutterstock) The most frequent battlegrounds are public and school libraries, with the fields of engagement including venues like school board meetings and town halls. On an almost annual basis, a firestorm surrounding the notion of books being banned reignites somewhere in America. ![]()
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