The Los Angeles Times reports that attempts to have books pulled from library shelves increased by 20% in 2004. A new American Library Association survey shows that book-banning attempts were made 547 times last year, compared to 458 in 2003. But the survey only counted formal challenges, defined as a”written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness,” so the figure is possibly much higher. Three books with gay themes topped the list, including Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
(Via SpeakSpeak.)