The Demise of School Libraries: The Overuse of Censorship

By Leslie Quach

It gets to a point where the overuse of censorship can wipe out an entire genre and community. Attempts on "controversial themes" will provide a specific version of life and history for schools and libraries. The lack of diversity in books affect entire audiences which in turn, libraries will lack titles and even patrons. A domino effect could come into play that accelerates the demise of school libraries.

We see it in the titles that are being challenged. In Kara Yorio's article, "Behind the Numbers: Fewer challenges, but book banning remains in full force" she pulls up the ALA report for most challenged books of 2024 and highlights the censorship attempts are mostly focused on "titles with LGBTQIA+ characters and storylines, as well as books that deal with race, equity, and social justice and those that include sex." 

What happens if we are forced to remove these kinds of books? It's not like it'll be forgotten in society, people of color will still exist, LGBTQIA+ people will still exist, equity and social justice will still exist

This is not to say younger age groups need to be reading heavy content like sex, but to completely remove that content from everyone is extreme and will likely cause an uproar. And, sometimes some of the reasons to ban a title doesn't make too much sense. In Kathy Ishizuka's article, "Beware workaround" when discussing Alex Willan's goblin creation or unicorn drawings, Jennifer Pippin, president of the local Moms for Liberty chapter, claimed nudity on fictional characters to be "harmful to minors". It became a real issue, initiating a book ban. In Kathy's discussion with Brandi Cummings, an assistant director of Kenosha Public Library, she brings up a point about needing to learn how to live in conflict, rather than leaning heavily into compromise, it's becoming difficult to be a fix-it-all for the communities. 

References

Ishizuka, K. (2024). Beware Workarounds. School Library Journal, 70(5), 6. 

Yorio, K. (2025). Behind the Numbers: Fewer challenges, but book banning remains in full force. School Library Journal, 71(5), 8.