Social Policy

Book Banning Not Significant

Is America imperiled by a rising tide of library book bannings? Each fall, the American Library Association publishes a list of books it says are being banned.

But a recent report from Focus on the Family says that the number of controversies is actually minuscule. Moreover, these incidents are not true bannings.

Focus on the Family makes these points:

  • Of the 122 "book-banning" attempts nationwide cited in the ALA's 1997 report, only 17 took place in public library systems -- with just seven out of 17,000 public libraries in the U.S. being responsible for all 17 incidents.

  • At only two of the seven libraries were actions taken in response to complaints of a would be "book-banner."

  • The remaining 105 incidents did not take place in libraries, but in schools -- with no action being taken in 60 percent of the cases.

  • In 2 percent of the cases a book was placed on restricted access and in 4 percent a book was temporarily removed while a complaint was investigated.

In 34 percent, a book was pulled or deleted from a mandatory reading list. Many of the cases in this category involved parents or teachers questioning the age-appropriateness of particular books for particular students.

Source: Scan, "The 'Banned Books' Bogeyman," American Enterprise, November-December 1997.


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