Banned Books and Freedom of Speech Book banning has been a moral and legal issue throughout history. Books are a powerful information tool, but have also been used to hurt and harm society. Recently, there has been an increase in the amount of books being banned in the United States. According to the American Library Association, the number of public library titles being challenged increased by 92 percent, and school libraries by 11 percent in 2023. (American Library) Books that are being challenged are disproportionately targeted around LGBTQ and BIPOC topics and authors. As the American demographic shifts towards having less of a racial majority and a heterocentric view of what is acceptable, it has become the role of the book publishing community to try to uphold …show more content…
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