Books can be challenged for many reasons, but most challenges begin with a concern about what readers — particularly children and teens — might encounter in a book. The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) reports that challenges are often based on objections to material that is considered sexually explicit, unsuitable for a particular age group or offensive because of its language.
A book challenge is a request to remove or restrict access to a book. When a challenge results in a book being removed from a collection, placed behind restrictions, or otherwise made harder to access, it becomes censorship.
Book Challenges Are on the Rise
Book challenges are not new, but the number of challenges in recent years has reached unprecedented levels.
In 2025, 4,235 unique titles were challenged in libraries — a number second only to 2023, when 4,240 titles were challenged. Of the titles challenged in 2025, 66% were banned from libraries, representing 5,668 books. Another 920 books had access restricted. Together, these figures represent the highest number of titles censored in a single year and the highest percentage of challenges resulting in censorship since the OIF began tracking this data in 1990.
The nature of challenges has changed, too. According to the OIF, challenges are increasingly being brought by organized groups rather than individual readers. In 2025, 92% of tracked challenges were initiated by pressure groups, government officials and decision-makers, while fewer than 3% were initiated by individual parents.
At the same time, efforts to protect access to books are growing. According to American Libraries Magazine, nine states have passed legislation addressing book bans, while 18 states have introduced legislation intended to protect access to library materials, librarians and the challenge process.
Why Access to Books Matters
Libraries offer something important: the opportunity to encounter ideas, experiences and perspectives beyond our own. A book may introduce a reader to a person they've never met, a life they've never imagined, a piece of history they didn't know or an idea they hadn't considered. Some books are challenged precisely because they ask us to think, question and see the world differently.
That doesn't mean every book is right for every reader. Libraries rely on professional selection policies, age-appropriate collections and the ability of families to make choices about what their children read. But when books are removed or access is restricted because someone objects to the content, those choices become more limited for everyone.
The freedom to read is about more than books. It's about having the opportunity to explore, learn, question and discover for yourself. Banned Books Week is Oct. 4-10, 2026. Consider picking up one of 2025’s top 11 challenged books or titles that have been challenged over the years:
Fight censorship and exercise your freedom to read by picking up any of the most challenged books of 2025. (We've also included a few from 2024, 2023 and 2022).
