UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Saturday, Oct. 19, is the Freedom to Read Community Day of Action, a national event designated by the American Library Association (ALA) and United Against Book Bans to celebrate America’s libraries, safeguard the freedom to read and encourage civic participation.

According to Russell Hall, reference and instruction librarian at Penn State University Libraries’ John M. Lilley Library and Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, his is one voice among many with strong feelings about book banning and censorship.

“Our core values as librarians are found in the Library Bill of Rights, which holds that libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment,” said Hall, a past chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee for the Pennsylvania Library Association, which serves to advocate for freedom of selection of materials for all libraries and oppose any infringement of intellectual freedom upon libraries. “We believe people are free to choose what they want to read, and to determine what their own children can and should read, but do not have the right to impose their will upon others who are free to make that choice for themselves.”

There’s nothing new about book bans. For centuries, published works ranging from religious texts to classic literature to contemporary novels deemed too controversial for young readers have been targeted for removal from library shelves across the United States.

More recently, a wave of book banning and censorship started gathering momentum in 2020. These coordinated attempts to censor reading material continue to impact schools and public libraries nationwide, threatening the First Amendment rights of all Americans, said the American Library Association (ALA).

“Book banning has surged at an alarming rate in recent years, with a record number of bans reported last year,” according to a statement released by the ALA on Oct. 1. “Librarians nationwide are facing verbal abuse, death threats and, in some cases, even criminal charges and jail time. As bastions of intellectual freedom, public libraries are at the forefront of this battle. … Upholding diverse perspectives and a broad range of ideas is not only essential to the core mission of libraries, but to our democracy.”

ALA president Cindy Hohl said, “At a time when our nation and the world is full of division, there is one place in almost every community with a welcome for everyone. At the library, we can make ourselves at home with a familiar story — and we can step outside our comfort zone with a book about unfamiliar places, characters and ideas. There’s no limit to what we can learn, including how to participate in this democracy that gives us the freedom to read.”

The ALA compiles data on book challenges from reports filed with its Office for Intellectual Freedom by library professionals in the field and from news stories published throughout the United States. Among the disturbing trends that have taken root in recent years:

• The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by the ALA.
• The 2023 numbers show efforts to censor 4,240 unique book titles in schools and libraries. This tops the previous high from 2022, when 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship.
• The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries in 2023 increased by 92% over the previous year; school libraries saw an 11% increase. Factors contributing to censorship efforts in public school systems include state government initiatives such as Florida statute HB 1467, signed into law in March 2022 and made effective July 1, 2022. The law requires school districts to be transparent in the selection of instructional materials, including library and reading materials, to preserve the rights of parents to make decisions about what materials their children are exposed to in school. 

Hall said he takes issue with the wording of the Florida law.

“This isn’t about transparency,” he said. “It’s already transparent for anyone who cares to look or ask. This is about making an incredibly burdensome task for the libraries in the hopes that they just won’t buy as many books if they have to list them all in a manner that suits the government.”

Hall pointed to a 2022 press release from PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates for free expression through the advancement of literature and human rights, as a good explanation: “(T)he real aim is clear: to encourage and facilitate public scrutiny of schools, and intimidate teachers from using any books or materials that might even be remotely controversial. The bill places administrative burdens on schools that may prove costly and time-consuming; and it also risks encouraging local districts to discontinue books that any parent or citizen deems ‘inappropriate’ anywhere in the state.”

Joel Burkholder, reference and instruction librarian at Lee R. Glatfelter Library at Penn State York, agreed. “Ban advocates try to frame their efforts as objective policy rather than an ideological agenda,” he said. “It’s the same basic tactic as citing peer-reviewed research to support the predetermined conclusion that pornography is a public health crisis or that being trans is a choice.”

For more information on the Freedom to Read Community Day of Action and events planned across the country, visit the United Against Book Bans website.