The number could well grow again in 2022, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, as conservative-led school boards and legislatures enact more restrictions.
NEW YORK - Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, has never been so busy.
The actual total for last year is likely much higher — the ALA collects data through media accounts and through cases it learns about from librarians and educators and other community members. Books preemptively pulled by librarians — out of fear of community protest or concern for their jobs — and challenges never reported by libraries are not included.
Last fall in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin backed a local school board’s banning of the two books during his successful run for governor. Around the same time, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster supported a school board’s decision to remove “Gender Queer.” Kobabe and Evison noted during recent interviews an irony of their books being targeted: Neither set out to write a story for young people. But they gained a following among students with the help of the American Library Association, which has given each book an Alex Award for works “written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.”