"PEN America conducted an analysis of 3,743 books removed from American school libraries and classrooms in the 2024-2025 academic year. Of the banned titles, 29% or 1,100 were non-fiction, up from 14% in the previous school year. Fiction titles still make up the lion's share of banned books, but the spike in non-fiction books targeted for their content is particularly alarming and hints at a new frontier in American academic censorship."
"Compared to the prior school year, the portion of educational and informational books banned grew from 5% of all banned titles to 13%. "This latest trend shows an embrace of anti-intellectualism, undermining public knowledge by devaluing education and expertise," PEN America Program Director Kasey Meehan said in a statement on the findings. "It is another example of how censorship sweeps broadly, leading to removals of all kinds of books, in its efforts to sow fear and distrust in our public education system.""
"Books aren't banned in a vacuum. Titles can be flagged and pulled in a few different ways, including through parent or community interventions, by administrative decision, or in response to government policies. When a single book is banned, hundreds of copies of that title might be pulled from circulation in a school district across libraries and classrooms."
A report on banned books in U.S. public schools found that non-fiction removals doubled in the 2024–2025 academic year. The analysis covered 3,743 books removed from school libraries and classrooms. Non-fiction accounted for 29% of banned titles, rising from 14% the prior year. Educational and informational books increased from 5% to 13% of all banned titles. Fiction remains the largest share of removals, but the growth in non-fiction targeting is described as especially concerning. Books can be flagged and removed through parent or community interventions, administrative decisions, or government policy responses. When one title is banned, many copies can be removed across a district.
Read at Fast Company
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]