Content deleted Content added
Reverted 1 edit by Pete unseth (talk): Statement has two citations to scholarly sources |
Changed lede to be more of a summary of the article, while maintaining the multiplie viewpoints originally contained in the lede. As a result, added a section defining censorship more fully to maintain the theme of the former lede. |
||
Line 1:
{{short description|Censorship of books in the United States}}
{{see also|Censorship|Censorship in the United States}}
[[Book censorship]] is the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational material on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable according to the standards applied by the censor first appeared, in what is now known as the United States, in 1624 in modern-day Quincy, Massachusetts.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|title=Censorship and Selection: Issues and Answers for Schools. Revised|last=Reichman|first=Henry|publisher=ALA Books|year=1993|isbn=978-0-8389-0798-6|location=Chicago|url=https://archive.org/details/censorshipselect00henr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitacre |first=Lindsay |title=Research Guides: Banned Books: History of Book Banning |url=https://guides.library.harvard.edu/c.php?g=1269000&p=9306840 |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=guides.library.harvard.edu |language=en}}</ref> While specific titles caused bouts of book censorship, with ''Uncle Tom’s Cabin'' frequently cited as the first book subject to a national ban, censorship of reading materials and their distribution remained sporadic in the United States until the Comstock Laws in 1873.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blakemore |first=Erin |date=2023-04-24 |title=The history of book bans—and their changing targets—in the U.S. |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/history-of-book-bans-in-the-united-states |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}</ref> It was in the early 20th century that book censorship became a more common practice and source of public debate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brady |first=Amy |date=2016-09-22 |title=The History (and Present) of Banning Books in America |url=https://lithub.com/the-history-and-present-of-banning-books-in-america/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Literary Hub |language=en-US}}</ref> Throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries there have been waves of attempts at widespread book censorship in the US. Since 2022, the country has seen a dramatic increase of attempted and successful censorship, with a 63% rise in reported cases between 2022 and 2023, including a substantial rise in challenges filed to hundreds of books at a time.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Italie |first=Hillel |title=New censorship report finds that over 4,000 books were targeted in US libraries in 2023 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2024/03/14/american-library-association-2023-report-book-censorship/72975557007/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Tovia |date=2024-03-14 |title=American Library Association report says book challenges soared in 2023 |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/03/14/1238678902/book-bans-libraries-american-library-association-schools |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=National Public Radio}}</ref> In recent years, about three-fourths of books subject to censorship in the US are for children, pre-teenagers, and teenagers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=2023-09-22 |title=‘Eating away at democracy’: book bans in US public schools rise by a third in a year |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/22/democracy-book-bans-us-public-schools-rise |access-date=2024-04-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
In the [[debate over book censorship in the United States]], “freedom to read” proponents cite traditions and legal precedent building upon the Constitution of the United States, particularly the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=American Library Association |date=2008-06-13 |title=First Amendment and Censorship |url=https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/censorship |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=American Library Association |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-09-20 |title=The Freedom to Read {{!}} ACLU of Oregon |url=https://www.aclu-or.org/en/freedom-read |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=www.aclu-or.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |last2= |last3= |date=2024-01-11 |title=From Iowa to Florida, national lawsuits against local book bans begin to gain traction |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2024-01-11/from-iowa-to-florida-lawsuits-against-book-bans-begin-to-gain-traction |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Smithsonian |last2=Klimek |first2=Chris |title=A Brief History of Banned Books in America |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-banned-books-in-america-180983011/ |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> Much of the justification for censorship over the years has cenetered on definitions of obscenity and questions about the perceived moral qualities of various books’ content.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Schaper |first=Arthur |date=2023-05-20 |title=Op-ed: MassResistance continues fight |url=https://www.newsandsentinel.com/opinion/local-columns/2023/05/op-ed-massresistance-continues-fight/ |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=News and Sentinel (Parkersburg, WV) |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Steele, Jennifer. (2020). A History of Censorship in the United States. Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy. 5. 6-19. </ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2016-10-25 |title=Banned Book FAQ |url=https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/banned-books-qa |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=American Library Asociation |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Wood |first=Sarah |date=2022-05-17 |title=Book Bans: What to Know |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/book-bans-what-to-know |access-date=2024-04-20 |work=US News and World Report}}</ref>
Today, the target of book censorship may be either a print, electronic, or audiobook, or a curriculum that includes such sources.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ferri |first=Catherine E. |date=2024-02-26 |title=Book Banning Goes Digital: Libraries Suspending Their E-Book Services and the Complications It Poses for First Amendment Doctrine |url=https://law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Publish_27-STLR-127-2024_Book-Banning-Goes-Digital.pdf |journal=Stanford Technology Law Review |volume=27 |pages=127-179}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gadd |first=Chris |date=2022-09-19 |title=Williamson County library backs 'Banned Book Week' after schools remove book |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/williamson/2022/09/20/williamson-county-library-banned-book-week-after-schools-remove-book/69498840007/ |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US}}</ref> Targeted texts may be held by a business such as a bookstore; a library, either a public library or one located in a school or university; or the school or university as a whole.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Webb |first=Susan L. |date=2023-08-08 |title=Book Banning |url=https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/book-banning/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=The Free Speech Center at Middle Tennissee State University |language=en-US}}</ref> The entity requesting censorship may be an organization, private individual, or government official.<ref name=":0" />
Several professional organizations oppose book censorship, including the [[American Library Association]] (ALA), the [[National Council of Teachers of English]] (NCTE), and the [[American Booksellers Association]]. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Freedom to Teach: Statement against Banning Books |url=https://ncte.org/freedom-teach-banning-books/ |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=National Council of Teachers of English |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=CARMICHAEL |first=J |date=2023-10-11 |title=Books for All: Protect the Freedom to Read in Your Community |url=https://www.ala.org/advocacy/books-all-protect-freedom-read-your-community |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=American Library Association |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Banned Books Week |url=https://www.bookweb.org/abfe/banned-books-week |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=the American Booksellers Association}}</ref> Organizations that support book censorship include [[Moms for Liberty]], No Left Turn for Education, and [[MassResistance]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jacques |first=Melissa |date=2024-04-08 |title=Pornography in school libraries? Moms for Liberty shares Ryan Walters' cause célèbre |url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/pornography-in-school-libraries-moms-for-liberty-shares-ryan-walters-cause-c-l-bre/article_bad62f32-d5ba-11ee-9272-978b193ede01.html |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=Tulsa World |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> <ref>{{Cite news |last=Pendharkar |first=Eesha |date=2022-09-19 |title=Who's Behind the Escalating Push to Ban Books? A New Report Has Answers |url=https://www.edweek.org/leadership/whos-behind-the-escalating-push-to-ban-books-a-new-report-has-answers/2022/09 |access-date=2024-04-27 |work=Education Week |language=en |issn=0277-4232}}</ref><ref name=":3" />
== Definition and terminology ==
[[Book censorship]] is the act of restricting access to books, due to images, ideas, or information contained, because the individual or organization requesting censorship finds the content morally or otherwise objectionable.<ref name=":8" /> It refers specifically to attempts to remove or curtail access to a work for a whole population – such as all the children at a school or all the patrons of a public library – and does not include an individual’s decision that a book is not appropriate for themselves or their own children.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2006-07-26 |title=Access to Library Resources and Services for Minors: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights |url=https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/minors |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=American Library Association |language=en}}</ref>
Book censorship can take a number of forms. Scholar Emily Knox specifies four types of "active" censorship:
# Removal: abolishing certain books from the library, classroom, or bookstore shelves;
# Relocation: such as creating an "adults only" section of a library;
# Restriction: such as keeping a book in an inaccessable place unless someone gets special permission to view it; and
# Redaction: striking through or covering sections of materials so they cannot be seen by readers.<ref name=":18">{{Cite book |last=Knox |first=Emily J.M. |title=Foundations of Intellectual Freedom |publisher=American Library Association |year=2022 |isbn=9780838937457 |location=United States |pages=6-7}}</ref>
Book censorship has often been initiated by a book “challenge,” or a request to remove a book from a library or other location.<ref name=":53">{{Cite web |title=Banned Books Home – Marshall Libraries |url=https://www.marshall.edu/library/bannedbooks/ |access-date=2024-04-27 |language=en-US}}</ref> Many libraries and other educational institutions have “reconsideration policies” in place that lay out how to file a challenge and what will happen after one has been filed.<ref name=":62">{{Cite journal |last=Dawkins |first=April M |last2=Eidson |first2=Emily C |date=2021 |title=A Content Analysis of District School Library Selection Policies in the United States |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1329025.pdf |journal=School Library Research |volume=24 |pages=1-27 |via=ERIC}}</ref> These policies exist to make the challenge process transparent and consistent and to support due process.<ref name=":62" /> Usually an administrator or a committee will consider the challenge and the text, and make a determination.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blunt |first=Johnnie Romon |title=Book Challenges in School & Public Libraries: Identifying Frequently Challenged Books |url=https://guides.lib.uni.edu/bookchallenges/lists |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=University of Northern Iowa |language=en}}</ref> If the challenge is supported by the reconsideration process, the book will be removed from the library collection, school, etc.<ref name=":72">{{Cite web |last=Yorio |first=Kara |title=Censorship Attempts Will Have a Long-lasting Impact on School Library Collections, SLJ Survey Shows |url=https://www.slj.com/story/censorship-attempts-will-have-a-long-lasting-impact-on-school-library-collections-slj-survey-shows |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=School Library Journal}}</ref> A “banned book” is one that has been "removed from a library, classroom, etc."<ref name=":53" /> Since 2021, the rise in book challenges nationwide has had a "[[chilling effect]]," leading to increased self-censorship (Knox calls this "passive censorship") by many institutions, often at the level of school districts.<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":72" /> Additionally, as of 2024, there has been an increase in state and local legislation that normalizes removal, but also relocation and restriction, of books in libraries, schools, and other settings.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |last2= |title=Legislation of Concern in 2023 |url=https://www.everylibrary.org/billtracking2023 |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=EveryLibrary |language=en}}</ref>
==History==
| |||