What is a Book Challenge?
The American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom has recorded more than 7,000 book challenges since 1990, including 515 in 2002. It is estimated that less than one-quarter of all challenges are reported and recorded. Surveys indicate approximately 85% of the challenges to library materials receive no media attention and remain unreported. A challenge is a formal, written complaint requesting a book be removed from library shelves or school curriculum. About three out of four of all challenges are to material in schools or school libraries, and one in four are to material in public libraries. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. The positive message of Banned Boo
