Finding Classics Facing Bans & Challenges
- American Civil Liberties Union: Banned BooksFor nearly 100 years, the ACLU has fought to make sure Americans have the right to read what they want. To check out a few classics that face bans and challenges, scroll to the "Classics" tab and click the plus (+) to reveal some popular titles.
- American Library Association: Top 10 & Frequently Challenged ArchivesEvery year, the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in order to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools.
To review data on the Top 10 Most Challenged Titles between 1990 - 2022, scroll to the gray box and select the plus (+) next to each year to reveal specific titles and the reasoning behind the challenges.
Continue scrolling to "Frequently Challenged Books List" and select the plus (+) next to Classics. Here the OIF has collected extensive information on bans and challenges targeting novels from the 20th century. (Sourced from: Radcliffe Publishing Course's Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century) - PEN America Index of SchoolThis is a comprehensive list that details book bans that occurred in schools from 2023-2024, including the date challenged and the state. This list includes classic and modern novels.
- 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books by DecadeThe Office of Intellectual Freedom's collection of the 100 most frequently challenged books. Browse three unique decades of data: 1990-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019.
- UPenn Banned Books ExhibitThis 'exhibit' has a large number of classic novels that have and continue to face censorship.
Finding Modern Books Facing Bans & Challenges
- American Library Association's Annual List of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2023This list goes over the 10 most challenged books of 2023. The lists includes the reasons cited for the challenges.
- Pen American Index of School Book BansThis is a comprehensive list that details book bans that occurred in schools from 2023-2024, including the date challenged and the state. This list includes classic and modern novels.
- 100 Most Challenged Books by DecadeThe Office of Intellectual Freedom's collection of the 100 most frequently challenged books. Browse three unique decades of data: 1990-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019.
- American Library Association 2023 Censorship ReportThe ALA compiles data on book challenges from reports filed with its Office for Intellectual Freedom by library professionals in the field and from news stories published throughout the United States. This is their official report on censorship data collected in 2023.
- List of 2020 Banned and Challenged BooksHere is a list from ALA of all the books challenged in 2020.
- Challenged and Banned Books (ILA)This website from the Illinois Library Association contains PDF format lists of challenged and banned books from 1999-2016.
- Challenged Graphic NovelsExtensive list of challenged graphic novels compiled by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
- Frequently Challenged Young Adult BooksA brief compilation of young adult books that have been frequently challenged.
Subject Guide
E-Resources About Challenged Books
To access the following e-books, follow the link for "Online Access." You will need your Net-ID and Net-ID password. Each chapter is dedicated to an author, subdivided into the books that have been challenged by that author. First, click on View this eBook. Use the Contents tab in the left toolbar to jump to a particular section. Use the Next and Previous buttons at the top of the page to flip the e-book page.
The Literature Suppressed series
Volume 1: Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds
Volume 2: Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds
Volume 3: Literature Suppressed on Sexual Grounds
Volume 4: Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds
These links lead to the updated electronic versions of the texts. Each volume in this series is organized alphabetically by title of the book banned. Check the index for author names, book titles, or places where banning occurs (states, cities, libraries).