Banned Books in the U.S. What's to Know?

Story by Lilian Cunningham. Photo courtesy of PBS.

Is your favorite book still on a library shelf? As of 2025, over 4,000 books have been banned in the United States.

A book ban means removing or restricting access to books, primarily due to concerns about their themes, content, or ideas. Book bans often extend to public libraries, school libraries, and even bookstore shelves. Local boards of education are responsible for removing books deemed inappropriate for students. According to FindLaw, “once a book is in a library, school boards are also eligible to remove it under certain circumstances.” 

Books are banned when they are entirely removed from a collection after a formal or informal challenge. A book is challenged when someone raises an objection to its content. Concerns over content like LGBTQIA+ topics, racial issues, violence, and mature or controversial subjects have been common reasons for these book bans. Banning books and removing certain ones from a school’s curriculum can greatly impact students and their overall education. According to the American University School of Education, “book banning negatively impacts student learning outcomes by restricting access to diverse perspectives essential for intellectual growth.” This can hinder students' critical thinking abilities and potentially erase marginalized voices and histories from being shared and taught.

Along with the impact on students and education, book bans also impact authors and free speech. The New Jersey State Bar Foundation says that, “book bans violate the First Amendment because they deprive children or students of the right to receive information and ideas.” Among authors, there is now a very real fear of writing about important topics. CNN explains, “authors say the effect of those book bans is devastating for their careers.” Banning books can have a financial impact on these authors and cause them to lose not only readership, but income.

Some argue that book bans protect children. However, they encourage censorship and limit open discussion. They can prevent necessary conversations about identity, history, and equality. It’s not wrong for parents to be concerned about what their children are reading, but they shouldn’t support books being restricted from everybody to read. Exposure to different viewpoints is essential to personal growth and can help make all of us more open-minded. It’s important we fight against all book bans, especially for our future generations.

Lilian Cunningham is an 8th grade scholar at Friendship Woodridge International Middle School.