Censorship By The Numbers
Who initiates challenges to materials?
- 42% Patrons
- 32% Parents
- 14% Board/Administration
- 6% Librarians/Teachers
- 3% Political and religious groups
- 1% students
Where do challenges take place?
- 56% Public libraries
- 25% School (curriculum and classrooms)
- 16% School libraries
- 2% Academic libraries
- 1% Special libraries/other
Why are materials challenged?
- LGBT
- Sexually explicit content
- Profanity
- Propaganda
- Racism
- Sex education
- Mental illness
- Pervasively Vulgar
- Political viewpoint
- Un-American
- Violence
- Religious viewpoint
- Politically biased
- Suicide
- Abortion
- Anti-family
- Scary to minors
- Nudity
- May lead to terrorism
- Defies authority
- Gender roles
- Indoctrination of children
- Perpetuates stereotpyes
- Sexism
- Confusing
- Drugs
- Occult/Satanism
Books aren’t the only items threatened with censorship. Breakdown of 354 challenges tracked n 2017:
- 67% Books
- 18% Databases, magazines, films, games
- 7% Programs
- 4% Displays
- 4% Other
Artwork and information courtesy of the American Library Association.
Published
