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The American Library Association has released its annual list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books, included as part of its 2020 State of America's Libraries report. The report offers an annual summary of library trends, statistics and issues affecting all types of libraries during the previous calendar.
The popularity of libraries "continues to soar," with U.S. adults reporting an average of 10.5 trips per year to the library, which exceeded the amount of trips made to movie theaters, museums or zoos. The report also noted a trend of libraries becoming "libraries of things," and offering collections of items like "mattresses, dolls, bicycles, binoculars and accordions."
At the same time, the report found a 17% increase in the number of books targeted for removal or restriction, the majority of them featuring or addressing LGBTQIA+ content. All told, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 377 challenges in 2019, with 566 books targeted overall. The most frequently challenged titles last year were:
- George by Alex Gino
- Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, illustrated by EG Keller
- Sex Is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg, illustrated by Fiona Smyth
- Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack, illustrated by Stevie Lewis Reasons
- I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Drama, written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
- The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
- And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, illustrated by Henry Cole Reason