Book banning has become a common phenomenon in the United States and all around the world but how bad is it? Today we will be looking at how many books are banned in the United States and the states with most books banned.
States With the Most Books Banned
If you have been reading or watching the news, then you know that book banning is happening at an unprecedented race. It has become politicized and schools and libraries are seeing books banned like never before. How bad has it gotten?
You will find more infographics at Statista
This data chart from PEN America shows that states in the south and Midwest and leading the country in the most books banned or censored. Texas leads every state with 713 separate books facing bans in schools and libraries between July 2012 and April 2022. Some of the books banned covered issues about LGBTQI+ content or carried a political message.
Being banned from schools and libraries doesn’t mean Texans’ can’t read those books. They are still sold at bookstores and online stores. Many books that have been banned have seen a big increase in sales as people have supported the novels and authors by purchasing the banned books, drawing more attention to them.
The state with the least banned books is not New York, surprisingly. Utah claimed the throne with only 11 banned books while New York had 12. The list seems to be unpredictable as states like Georgia and Tennessee are near the bottom and somehow Pennsylvania is second on the chart with 453 books banned or censored. Nobody is surprised that Florida cracked the top three considering they are even banning textbooks that mention critical race theory.
Conclusion
While many of you have been following the coverage of books being banned, I thought it would be interesting to see the data behind it. Did any of the information in the chart surprise you? I know I was by some of these states. The great news is that people and organizations are fighting back and bringing more attention to the novels that have been banned or challenged.
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