“Gender Queer: A Memoir” has been pulled from the shelves of Orange County Public School libraries and others across the country. School leaders say the book, which tells the story of a young queer person’s coming of age is inappropriate.

Listen in: "Gender Queer" banning divides Orange, Brevard county communities

What’s new— and what’s not—about the latest rash of book bans across the U.S.

Librarians Grapple With Conservatives’ Latest Efforts to Ban Books

A push to ban a book about coming out as non-binary erupts in the suburbs amid reports of a spike in harassment against Illinois LGBTQ students.

National fight is creeping into Illinois schools over what is read, taught and who belongs

DALLAS - "Librarians are the secret masters of the world," wrote American Canadian author Spider Robinson. "They control information. Don't ever piss one off." Texas has a lot of pissed off librarians these days, thanks to conservative attacks on the freedom of young people to read what they want.

Opinion | Texas librarians are on the front lines in a battle for the right to read

Opinion | A Frenzy of Book Banning

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has urged his state's Department of Education to remove an "inappropriate" book on gender identity.

South Carolina governor calls for LGBTQ+ school book ban

After clash over school curriculum, Texas Republicans set sights on library books

At least four school districts in St. Louis are facing formal attempts to remove at least 21 books from school libraries. Two-thirds of those books are written by authors of color or authors who identify as LGBTQ.

Schools across St. Louis face more attempts to remove books from library shelves

As the battle against whether or not critical race theory should be taught in schools continues nationwide, some Republicans are also targeting the LGBTQ community. After attacking a Florida school board member for escorting a group of elementary...

South Carolina governor feels threatened by award-winning LGBTQ book, calls for ban in schools

Libraries are fighting nonstop efforts to remove LGBTQ books from shelves.

Librarians are fighting back against conservative attacks on LGBTQ books

The following is Current Events, a column of opinion and analysis. It’s tempting to write off Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s absurd call for criminal charges...

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s hunt for ‘porn’ in public schools is laughable but not without consequences

The scene in Spotsylvania County this week unfolded like many others - a parent stepped up to a microphone in a nondescript room, glanced at a sheet of prepared remarks and claimed the school board in this tiny slice of Virginia was exposing her children to pornography.

Backlash to school books centering race, sex and LGBTQ people turns into conservative rallying cry

American Library Association

The American Library Association (ALA) is fighting for the freedom to read! Leadership from the association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) is quoted in more than 139 news articles from Oct. 3 - Nov. 11, 2021, including coverage from print, radio, and TV news outlets. The circulation rate of coverage is more than 431 million and a publicity value of more than $1 million.  The ALA Communications and Marketing Office (CMO) will update this page as additional coverage is captured.

Book Challenges In The News