Challenges to books held by school and public libraries have grown exponentially over the past five years. Individuals and groups across the country have increasingly been petitioning elected officials, asking for the removal of an assortment of titles from library shelves.

According to the American Library Association, nationwide, the average annual number of book challenges between 2001 and 2020 was 273 unique titles. During the pandemic, removal requests surged, and by 2024 the number had swelled by nearly ten times, with complaints filed against 2,452 different books.

Since 1982, the American Library Association has been sponsoring Banned Books Week as a way to draw attention to efforts at pulling books out of library collections. This year it runs from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11, and two loc

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