2016 Banned & Challenged Books

Banned Books Week 2017 continues thirty-six years of celebrating-and protecting-the freedom to read. This freedom to choose what we read from the fullest array of possibilities is firmly rooted in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the amendment that guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Even as we enjoy a seemingly limitless and expanding amount of information, there is always a danger of someone else selecting what is available and to whom. Would-be censors, who come from all quarters and all political persuasions, threaten our right to choose for ourselves.

This list highlights a portion of public challenges from 2016. A "challenge" is an attempt to remove or restrict a book, whereas "ban" is the actual removal of the book. The List includes many titles familiar from years past, as well as newly published books that caught a censor's eye. Many of the books were retained through established processes of review. The challenges were brought by parents, by government bodies, and in some cases by school officials. The decisions on whether to retain the books were by school boards, courts, and committees.

-Robert P. Doyle-

This bibliography represents books challenged, restricked, removed, or banned in 2016 as reported in the Journal of Intellectural Freedom and Privacy. For a full description of why each of these titles made the field report, please click here.

The 46 books that have made the list this year are: