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What's the difference?

Challenged books are materials that someone has attempted to remove or restrict from a curriculum or library collection based on content.

Banned books are materials that have been removed from a curriculum or library collection based on content.

Why Are Books Challenged?

Books have been and continue to be challenged and banned for many reasons. The Office of Intellectual Freedom, an office of the American Library Association, has compiled this word cloud of the most common reasons.

Word cloud titled Reasons for Challenges. The most common reasons include LGBTQIA+, Political Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit, and Violence.