Banned Book Week is Oct 5th to Oct 11th.
As they do each year, ALA has published the top ten most challenged books of 2024.
With book challenges and bans on the rise, nationally, I was interested in what we are experiencing locally.
Via the JMRL contact form, I asked about book challenges at our local level over the last two years.
Meredith Dickens, Collection Manager, responded,
“JMRL received five formal requests for reconsideration for library materials in calendar year 2023, and two formal requests in 2024.”
Dickens listed out the challenged materials:
1/21/23 The Miniaturist [DVD]
2/16/23 Bass Reeves : Tales of the Talented Tenth / Gill, Joel Christian.
4/29/23 White Lotus Season 1 [DVD]
8/22/23 [Multiple titles]*
12/4/23 Police at the Funeral / Allingham, Margery
5/24/24 Mr. Watson’s Chickens / Dapier, Jarrett
12/30/24 Bye, Bye Binary / Geron, Eric
*this request included the following titles:
10000 dresses / Ewert, Marcus
Being Jazz / Jennings, Jazz
Born ready / Patterson, Jodie
Calvin / Ford, JR
Different kinds of fruit / Lukoff, Kyle
Frankie & Bug / Forman, Gayle
Gracefully Grayson / Polonsky, Ami
I am Jazz / Herthel, Jessica
Joy, to the world / Shappley, Kai
Julian is a mermaid / Love, Jessica
Kind like Marsha / Prager, Sarah
Lily and Dunkin / Gephart, Donna
The moon within / Salazar, Aida
The other boy / Hennessey, M. G.
The pants project / Clarke, Cat
The truth is / Ramos, NoNiega
This Book is gay / Dawson, Juno
This is our rainbow / edited by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby
Too bright to see / Lukoff, Kyle
When Aidan became a brother / Lukoff, Kyle
Dickens wrote, “In each case, the titles in question were retained in place (that is, neither reclassified nor removed) – with the exception of the Bass Reeves title by Joel Gill, which was moved from J to YA, to match the rest of the titles in that series.”
You can resist banning books and support authors & libraries by checking out one of these books!
Rachel Vogus' Habits and Hobbies 