Banned Books Week: Oct. 4-10

Celebrated every year, Banned Books Week is when we pause to reflect on the harms of censorship and celebrate our Freedom to Read.

The second-highest number of unique titles were challenged in 2025 since the American Library Association started keeping track.

The ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025. The highest ever documented was 4,240 in 2023.

Forty percent of the titles challenged in 2025 “represent the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color,” according to the ALA, also noting that 92 percent of all the challenges “were initiated by pressure groups, government officials and decision makers, up from 72 percent in 2024.”

Less than 3 percent of challenges originated from individual parents, the ALA states.

Peoria Public Library’s Collection Development Policy protects the intellectual freedom of our patrons, and “shall prevent censorship of its library materials.”

In building our collection, we keep in mind ALA’s Core Values: Access, Equity, Intellectual Freedom and Privacy, the Public Good, and Sustainability.

According to the ALA, the Top 11 Most Targeted Titles in 2025 were:

  1. Soldby Patricia McCormick
  2. The Perks of Being a Wallflowerby Stephen Chbosky
  3. Gender Queer: A Memoirby Maia Kobabe
  4. Empire of Stormsby Sarah J. Maas
  5. (tie) Last Night at the Telegraph Clubby Malinda Lo
  6. (tie) Tricksby Ellen Hopkins
  7. A Court of Thorns and Rosesby Sarah J. Maas
  8. (tie) A Clockwork Orangeby Anthony Burgess
  9. (tie) Identicalby Ellen Hopkins
  10. (tie) Looking for Alaskaby John Green
  11. (tie) Storm and Furyby Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

“In 2025, book bans were not sparked by concerned parents, and they were not the result of local grassroots efforts,” said Sarah Lamdan, Executive Director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

“They were part of a well-funded, politically-driven campaign to suppress the stories and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals and communities.”