• Concerns over “growing intolerance, suppression of free speech and censorship” led Forrest Spaulding, director of the Des Moines Public Library, to draft the Library Bill of Rights in 1938. The American Library Association (ALA) adopted it in 1939, making it the cornerstone of library intellectual freedom.
• Subsequent amendments to the Library Bill of Rights responded to crisis moments, such as McCarthy-era blacklists and resistance to materials on sexuality or Communism.
• State and local laws at times criminalized the display or loan of “obscene” or “controversial” books, but courts gradually expanded protections under the First Amendment.
1970s–1990s: School Library Battles and a National Conversation
• The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1982 decision in Board of Education v. Pico established that public school officials could not remove books from libraries simply because they disagreed with their content, affirming student access as a First Amendment right.
• However, book challenges surged, often orchestrated by local parental groups reacting to changing cultural values around race, sexuality, antiwar sentiment, and religion. The ALA began systematically tracking censorship attempts and launched Banned Books Week in 1982 to raise public awareness.
2000s–Present: New Waves of Legislation and Record-Setting Bans
• The 21st century saw the rise of organized national campaigns against specific themes—especially LGBTQ+ representation, racial justice, and content addressing trauma or abuse. Political polarization fueled explicit state-level legislation.
• Since 2021, there has been an unprecedented spike in attempts to restrict library access. In 2023, the American Library Association documented more than 1,200 censorship attempts affecting over 4,200 unique titles—a 65% increase over the previous year, with three-fourths of targeted books written for youth or teens.
• Many new laws require the removal or restriction of “sexual,” “harmful,” or “divisive” materials from libraries and classrooms, with some states criminalizing library staff for failing to comply. These laws often use vague language, granting broad discretion for bans and emphasizing parental or governmental control.
• By 2024–2025, the majority of censorship attempts have been traced to coordinated efforts by advocacy groups and political actors, rather than spontaneous community concern. New laws not only ban books but also pressure librarians to self-censor or avoid purchasing “controversial” materials, resulting in what experts call “censorship by exclusion.”
Key Patterns and Recurring Themes
• Legal and professional responses: The recurring adoption and amendment of ethical codes (like