Banned Books
Banned in 2024
Credits
This guide was originally created by Megan Lotts, updated annually by Judit Ward and Becky Diamond on behalf of Books We Read.
Banned Books Week in 2025
- Top 10 and Frequently Challenged Books ArchiveA collection of top challenged books from the past. The Top 10 lists are only a snapshot of book challenges. Surveys indicate that 82-97% of book challenges remain unreported and receive no media coverage.
- ALA announces the top 10 most challenged booksEvery year, the American Library Association compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books based on reports from the field and media coverage. These are the most challenged books from 2024.
What the data revealed over time
The American Library Association documented the efforts to censor library materials in 2024. 2,452 unique titles were challenged, the third highest number ever documented by ALA and significantly exceeding the annual average of 273 unique titles over the period from 2001–2020.
A recent trend shows significant changes in book banning initiatives. Before 2020, it would be a single parent who wished to remove or restrict access to a book their child was reading. According to data recently collected, there’s evidence of a "well-organized movement, the goals of which include removing books about race, history, gender identity, sexuality, and reproductive health from America's public and school libraries," as explained in the ALA release: Nearly 72% of censorship attempts in 2024 were initiated by pressure groups and decision makers who have been swayed by them.
Take a look at the censorship data to see the trend over time.
