Celebrate the right to read this Banned Books Week (September 22-28, 2024) by checking out the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2023, many of which are available at USF Libraries.
In 2023, the ALA reported the highest number of challenged book titles ever with 4,240 unique book titles challenged in the United States. This is a 65% increase over 2022, and an even more shocking hike compared to prior years, with an average number of 273 challenged titles per year between 2001 and 2020. This surge was largely driven by organized pressure groups who drafted extensive lists of titles they deemed inappropriate for readers. These lists disproportionately targeted books reflecting the lived experiences of those who are LGBTQIA+, Black, Indigenous, or persons of color. In Florida alone, the ALA documented 33 separate formal challenges in 2023 with 2,672 titles targeting in those challenges, and Pen America found that Florida experienced 3,135 book bans from July 2021 to December 2023, the highest in the country. Support every person’s right to read and access information because free people read freely!
