Here's How Many Book Banning Attempts Massachusetts Saw In Recent Wave

MASSACHUSETTS — Residents in Massachusetts attempted to ban more than 60 books in recent years part of a trend of banning attempts in the U.S. that focus on books that deal with racial and LGTBQ+ issues, according to two new reports.

Some 4,240 book titles were targeted for censorship in 2023 across the U.S. That’s up 65 percent from the previous all-time high of 2,571 titles targeted for removal from libraries in 2022, according to a report last week from the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.

In Massachusetts, there were 37 attempts to ban or restrict books in 2023, with 63 titles affected, the report said. Massachusetts has the highest population of any New England state, but the state also had the highest number of attempted bans in the region. Connecticut and Maine were tied for second with 17 attempts each — although 113 titles were challenged in Connecticut, the most of any New England state.

A separate report from PEN America said the most often banned books in school libraries in the 2022-23 school year were “Tricks,” “The Bluest Eye” — a book that would help author Toni Morrison win the Nobel Prize for literature — “Looking for Alaska,” “A Court of Mist and Fury,” “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “Thirteen Reasons Why,” “Sold,” “Crank,” “Identical” and “Empire of Storms.”

Some form of book banning exists in 33 states, according to the PEN America report. Only one title in Massachusetts has been banned from a school library. In 2022, Abington Public Schools removed "This Book Is Gay" by Juno Dawson, according to PEN America, but the book was returned to the high school library following a review by the superintendent and a 4-1 vote by the school committee.

A school in Great Barrington also became the center of controversy recently when a custodian called police about the book "Gender Queer: A Memoir." A Great Barrington officer searched a classroom at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School and confiscated the book, according to the Berkshire Eagle. The custodian, Adam Yorke, was known at the school for making false reports about teachers, according to the newspaper.

Jeff Raymond, a journalist based in Millbury, has filed public records requests with school libraries across Massachusetts detailing book ban attempts. The records he has received can be viewed here.

Overall, the American Library Association documented 1,247 demands last year to censor library books, materials and resources as culture warriors targeted public as well as school libraries in their campaign for more parental say in what children read.

Last year, the number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased 92 percent from the previous year. Challenges at public schools were up 11 percent from 2022.

Almost half (47 percent) of the challenged titles dealt with LGBTQ+ or BIPOC (Black, indigenous and other people of color) individuals and themes.

The surge was driven by groups and individuals who sometimes demanded that dozens or even hundreds of titles be removed from library shelves in a single request, the report said.

In 17 states, activists sought to censor books more than 100 times in 2023. They were Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Organized campaigns to ban books are far from over and require an equal effort by those who oppose them, according to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom.

“We must all stand together to preserve our right to choose what we read,” Caldwell-Stone said in a news release.

“Each demand to ban a book is a demand to deny each person’s constitutionally protected right to choose and read books that raise important issues and lift up the voices of those who are often silenced,” she continued. “By joining initiatives like Unite Against Book Bans and other organizations that support libraries and schools, we can end this attack on essential community institutions and our civil liberties.”