Banned Books Research Inquiries

Often times ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) receives requests from students and researchers for information about specific banned and challenged books. Part of our mission at OIF is to provide support to library workers and teachers who report censorship. Due to the confidential nature of many of those situations, we are limited to providing only publicly available information.

Here's a list of resources that chronicles information on individual banned and challenged titles.

• Banned Books: Defending Our Freedom to Read by Robert P. Doyle. (2017)
  • To purchase: Copies are available through the ALA Store to purchase for $15.
  • In libraries: Check with your local public, school, or university libraries if you have access to a copy in their collections.
  • Digitally: Available to ALA Members. Login required.

• Field Reports. (Annual bibliographies that supplement Banned Books: Defending Our Freedom to Read.)
  • 2020: This digital download is available through the ALA Store to purchase for $29.
  • 2020: A pack of 50 physical copies are available through the ALA Store to purchase for $35.
  • 2004-2019: PDFs are available digitally on ALA's website.

Students may contact OIF (oif@ala.org) to request information on books that are not listed in these resources. It may take 3-5 days for staff to respond to your request.

A note about our research

The information in these resources is compiled from news reports, individuals, libraries, schools, and other organizations about challenges to materials and services. OIF does not always track the progress or eventual outcome of each censorship attempt reported to it nor can it assure that data items are consistent across each report. In addition, not every challenge is reported to OIF. As a result, the information that we maintain is a snapshot of requests to remove or restrict materials from libraries and classrooms and is not a complete or exhaustive source of data on such activities. OIF maintains the database for internal staff use, as a means of encouraging libraries to report challenges, and to create awareness of the importance of protecting and celebrating the freedom to read. Because the censorship database does not have the statistical validity demanded by many social scientists and researchers and may be vulnerable to misinterpretation and misuse, we must deny any request asking OIF to share raw data.