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The Most-Challenged Books of 2024
The Most-Challenged
Books of 2024
Apr 7, 2025 1:05 PM CDT

The Most-Challenged Books of 2024

George M. Johnson's All Boys Aren't Blue saw the most pushback, per American Library Association

(Newser) - Removing books from library shelves is no longer simply a story of objections from a local community or a parent, the American Library Association says. In its "State of America's Libraries" report released Monday, the ALA found more than 70% of attempted bans come from organized groups and...

Ex-NFL Player Arrested in MAGA Protest
Ex-NFL Player
Arrested Protesting
MAGA Plaque
VIDEO
Feb 21, 2025 10:53 AM CST

Ex-NFL Player Arrested Protesting MAGA Plaque

Ex-Viking Chris Kluwe went off in speech at City Council meeting in Huntington Beach, California

(Newser) - Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe pushed back against the "Make America Great Again" movement at a meeting of the California city of Huntington Beach City Council, earning an arrest for his efforts. The details:
  • Impetus: According to the New York Times , the 43-year-old showed up at the meeting
...

Julianne Moore: My Kids Book About Freckles Was Banned

Actor says it was 'great shock' to learn Freckleface Strawberry was pulled from Defense Dept. schools

(Newser) - Last week, the Defense Department issued a memo noting it had started reviewing books in schools for military families operated by the DoD—and now an Oscar-winning actor says her children's book is one that's been pulled from library shelves. "It is a great shock for me...

Here Are Some of 2024's Most-Borrowed Books

NPR looks at data from 18 libraries across the country

(Newser) - Public libraries have been releasing their end-of-year lists, and NPR took a look at 18 of them to see what some of the most-borrowed books of 2024 were:
  • Popular across the country: Kristin Hannah's The Women, Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing, Emily Henry's Happy Place
  • Most popular in New
...

Court Suspends Panel That Decided History Book Is Fiction

Recent decisions by Montgomery County's citizens review board have been stayed

(Newser) - The Texas review board that mandated public libraries move a book about the mistreatment of Native Americans to the "fiction" section has been suspended, as have all of its recent decisions, in response to widespread pushback. That means historian Linda Coombs' Colonization and the Wampanoag Story will be returned...

Texas Board Reclassifies Indigenous Book as 'Fiction'

Move comes after Montgomery County removed librarians from the process

(Newser) - A review board in Texas has made the controversial decision to reclassify a book about a Native American tribe from nonfiction to fiction in a public library. The move regarding Colonization and the Wampanoag Story came after Montgomery County stripped the review board of librarians, reports LoneStarLive.com . The rationale...

Harvard's Gruesomely Infamous Book Has an Update

University announces it has removed binding made of human skin from 19th-century tome

(Newser) - If you've ever spent a rainy day browsing through Harvard's "Ask a Librarian" FAQ, you may have stumbled upon one particularly gruesome query : "What is the status of the book bound in human skin at Harvard?" After a decade of debate and controversy, that status now...

Library Comes Up With Purrfect Way to Forgive Lost Books

Worcester Public Library in Massachusetts is granting amnesty if you bring in cat pics

(Newser) - A Massachusetts library has implemented a temporary—and arguably purrfect—forgiveness program for those who've lost or damaged materials they've borrowed. The New York Times reports on the "March Meowness" initiative currently happening at the Worcester Public Library: For this month only, borrowers whose library cards have...

Book Borrowed in 1919 Finally Returns to Library

'Famous Composers Vol. 1' had already cheated destruction once

(Newser) - If the St. Paul Public Library was that way, somebody would be facing a major penalty for returning a book 103 years late, the city's mayor joked. "At the 1919 rate of a penny per day, that would have been a $36k fine," tweeted Melvin Carter, whose...

Author's Kids Book Flagged for a 'Laughable' Reason

Picture book placed on review list for Alabama library due to writer Mary-Louise Gay's last name

(Newser) - Marie-Louise Gay's children's books often pop up on various recommended lists, like "books to watch for" and books that "inspire a love of reading." At one Alabama library, however, one of the award-winning Canadian author and illustrator's picture books was placed on a list...

Obama's Dissent to Book Ban Hits TikTok

Former president says censorship of opposing viewpoints is 'profoundly misguided'

(Newser) - Fighting back against efforts to ban books from schools and public libraries, the American Library Association has found a prominent supporter in former President Obama. In an open letter to the nation's librarians, Obama denounces attempts to censor "some of the books that shaped my life—and...

'One of Most Sex-Ridden Books Around' Returned to School Shelves

Utah's Davis School District reverses decision

(Newser) - Bibles will return to the shelves in a northern Utah school district that provoked an outcry after it banned them from middle and elementary schools last month, the AP reports. Officials from the Davis School District said at a board meeting Tuesday that the district had determined the sacred text...

Illinois Libraries That Ban Books Won't Get Funding

'First of its kind' law has been signed

(Newser) - Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday signed into law a bill that he says will make Illinois the first state in the nation to outlaw book bans, the AP reports. Illinois public libraries that restrict or ban materials because of “partisan or doctrinal” disapproval will be ineligible for state...

Arkansas Suit Fights Law That Could Jail Librarians

Legislation calls for violating constitutional rights, libraries and publishers argue

(Newser) - Public libraries and book publishers have joined forces to fight a new Arkansas law that they see not only as an attempt to limit constitutional rights by severely restricting access to material, but as a threat to librarians themselves. The coalition filed a federal lawsuit Friday to prevent Act 372...

Library on Surprise Return: 'Do We Have a Story for You'

Book overdue for 44 years, $20 check turns up in the mail at Deschutes Public Library in Oregon

(Newser) - Life moves fast, so you may not be aware that Saturday is the last day of Return Borrowed Books Week . One library in Oregon has some news to share on that topic. "Do we have a story for you," reads a Wednesday Facebook post from the Deschutes Public...

Idaho Librarian Resigns Over 'Atmosphere of Extremism'

Among other things, Kimber Glidden was accused of 'grooming children for pedophiles'

(Newser) - “Nothing in my background could have prepared me for the political atmosphere of extremism, militant Christian fundamentalism, intimidation tactics, and threatening behavior currently being employed in the community,” librarian Kimber Glidden wrote in a statement announcing her resignation Aug. 16, per NBC News . Troubles began in March—a...

Darwin's Stolen Notebooks Turn Up in a Gift Bag

'Happy Easter' reads a note signed by 'X'

(Newser) - Charles Darwin’s notebooks, thought to have been stolen from Cambridge University's library nearly 22 years ago, have turned up in a bright pink gift bag with a note reading "Happy Easter." The package was discovered March 9 outside the librarian's office in a public area...

8-Year-Old Sneaks Self-Made Comic Book Onto Library Shelf
8-Year-Old Sneaks Self-Made
Comic Book Onto Library Shelf
in case you missed it
Feb 5, 2022 6:30 AM CST

8-Year-Old Sneaks Self-Made Comic Book Onto Library Shelf

Now there's a waiting list for Dillon Helbig's graphic novel in Boise, Idaho

(Newser) - Who needs a literary agent? Not this 8-year-old author from Boise, Idaho, who just self-published and promoted his comic book in a most unique way. Turns out Dillon Helbig snuck a copy of his DIY comic, The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis—by "Dillon His Self"—onto...

Man to Library: Here's That Dylan Album I Borrowed in 1973

He donated $175 plus one of his own albums to Cleveland-area library

(Newser) - After nearly five decades of blowin' in the wind, a double Bob Dylan album finally has a direction home: A man living in San Francisco has mailed the vinyl back to an Ohio library 48 years after it was supposed to be returned. Howard Simon recently sent the album along...

Books Are Vanishing in Hong Kong Libraries

Authorities are 'one step away from ... actual book banning,' says activist Joshua Wong

(Newser) - Now unavailable in Hong Kong libraries: books by leading democracy activists. At least nine titles by authors like Joshua Wong and Tanya Chan are disappearing from city libraries only days after China passed a severe national security law , the South China Morning Post reports. The agency in charge of Hong...

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