Two reports released Monday provide a mixed but compelling outlook on the wave of book removals and challenges as the annual begins for schools, stores and libraries across the United States.

The found a substantial drop in 2024 so far in complaints about books stocked in public, school and academic libraries, and in the number of books receiving objections. Meanwhile, is documenting an explosion in books being removed from school shelves in 2023-24, tripling to more than 10,000 over the previous year. More than 8,000 were pulled just in Florida and Iowa, where laws restricting the content of books have been passed.

The two surveys donsa国际传媒檛 necessarily contradict each other.

The library associationsa国际传媒檚 Office for Intellectual Freedom has recorded 414 challenges over the first eight months of 2024, with 1,128 different titles criticized. Over the same time period last year, books. The ALA relies on media accounts and reports from librarians and has long acknowledged that many challenges may not be included, whether because librarians preemptively withhold a book that may be controversial or decline to even acquire it.

Challenges have surged to record highs over the past few years, and the 2024 totals so far still exceed the ALAsa国际传媒檚 numbers before 2020. Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the associationsa国际传媒檚 Office for Intellectual Freedom, also cautioned that the numbers predate the start of the fall school year, when laws that had been on hold in Iowa will again be in effect.

sa国际传媒淩eports from Iowa are still coming in,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淎nd we expect that to continue through the end of the year.sa国际传媒�

The library association defines a sa国际传媒渃hallengesa国际传媒� as a sa国际传媒渇ormal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.sa国际传媒� The ALA doesnsa国际传媒檛 keep a precise figure of how many books have actually been withdrawn.

According to PEN, bans are tallied through local media reports, sa国际传媒渟chool district websites, and school board minutes, as well as organizational partnerssa国际传媒� such as the Florida Freedom to Read Project and Let Utah Read. The library association relies primarily on local media and accounts from public librarians. And the two organizations have differing definitions of sa国际传媒渂an,sa国际传媒� a key reason their numbers vary so greatly. For the ALA, a ban is the permanent removal of a book from a librarysa国际传媒檚 collection. Should hundreds of books be pulled from a library for review, then returned, they are not counted as banned, but listed as a single sa国际传媒渃hallenge.sa国际传媒�

For PEN, withdrawals of any length qualify as bans.

sa国际传媒淚f access to a book is restricted, even for a short period of time, that is a restriction of free speech and free expression,sa国际传媒� says Kasey Meehan, who directs PENsa国际传媒檚 Freedom to Read program.

The ALA and PEN both say that most of the books targeted have racial or LGBTQIA+ themes, whether itsa国际传媒檚 Maia Kobabesa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淕ender Queen,sa国际传媒� Toni Morrisonsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淏elovedsa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒淭he Bluest Eyesa国际传媒� or Jonathan Evisonsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淟awn Boy.sa国际传媒� While some complaints have come from liberals objecting to the racist language of sa国际传媒淭he Adventures of Huckleberry Finnsa国际传媒� and other older works, the vast majority originate with conservatives and such organizations as Moms for Liberty.

The Iowa law, passed last year in the Republican-controlled statehouse, bans school libraries from carrying books that depict sex acts. The law also requires schools to publicize its library collection online and provide instructions for parents on how to request the removal of books or other materials. Many districts already had those systems in place.

After LGBTQIA+ youth, teachers and major publishers filed legal challenges, a federal judge in December put a temporary hold on key parts of the law, but it was lifted by a federal appeals court last month in an order that left room for challengers to seek a block again.

Records requests filed by the Des Moines Register with Iowasa国际传媒檚 325 districts showed nearly 3,400 books had been removed from school libraries to comply with the law before it was paused. In Davenport, which is among Iowasa国际传媒檚 10 largest districts and serves more than 12,000 students, Margaret Atwoodsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淭he Handmaidsa国际传媒檚 Tale,sa国际传媒� Kabobesa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淕ender Queersa国际传媒� and Morrisonsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淏luest Eyesa国际传媒� were among the nine books taken out of circulation.

After the law passed, staff were instructed to review books in their care available to students, district communications director Sarah Ott wrote in an email.

sa国际传媒淚f any books were preliminarily identified as potentially violating the new law, building staff referred the books to district administration for official review,sa国际传媒� according to Ott. The district administration uses a process that was already in place to review materials and ensure compliance with the law, she said.

Banned Books Week, which runs through Sunday, was established in 1982 and features readings and displays of banned works. It is supported by the ALA, PEN, the Authors Guild, the National Book Foundation and more than a dozen other organizations. Filmmaker Ava Duvernay has been named honorary chair, and student activist Julia Garnett, who has opposed bans in her native Tennessee, is the youth honorary chair. Garnett was among 15 sa国际传媒淕irls Leading Changesa国际传媒� praised last fall by first lady Jill Biden during a White House ceremony.

sa国际传媒淲e observe Banned Books Week, but we donsa国际传媒檛 celebrate,sa国际传媒� Caldwell-Stone said. sa国际传媒淏anned books are the opposite of the freedoms promised by the First Amendment.sa国际传媒�