150 YEARS STRONG

ALA’s Anniversary Meets a Critical Moment for the Right to Read

This week marks Banned Books Week, an annual observation that aims to raise awareness of the freedom to read, as well as the ongoing threats to that freedom that today are surging across libraries and schools at an unprecedented rate. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in book challenges in libraries, schools, and bookstores.

In a sign of the literary stars aligning, this year’s Banned Books Week – one of the library community’s most visible annual observances – also coincides with ALA’s official 150th anniversary on October 6. The overlap offers a timely opportunity to reflect on ALA’s longstanding role in defending intellectual freedom and protecting Americans’ right to read.

Banned Books Week and ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom

ALA is a founding member of the Banned Books Week Coalition, an international alliance of diverse organizations committed to increasing awareness of, and fighting for, the freedom to read. The event’s mission is more critical today than ever before. 

ALA established its Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) in 1967 to educate library workers and the public about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries. OIF’s first director, Judith Krug, changed the landscape of intellectual freedom in libraries and helped establish Banned Books Week.

In 2025 alone, OIF documented the censorship of 6,588 books in libraries and schools, the highest number ever recorded by the office and astronomically higher than the average of 70 titles per year censored from 2001-2020. 

As ALA continues to recognize its 150th anniversary, this moment is also a chance to look back at the books most often targeted for removal or restriction, or “challenged.” Explore the 150 most frequently challenged books since OIF began tracking censorship data and join libraries and readers everywhere in uniting against book bans.

Two shelves filled with books that have been historically banned or challenged. Facing outward on the right are "Gender Queer: A Memoir" (top) and "And Tango Makes Three" (bottom)
A bookshelf of historically banned and challenged books on display at the 2026 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.
  1. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe 
  2. All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson 
  3. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison 
  4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 
  5. Looking for Alaska by John Green 
  6. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie 
  7. This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson 
  8. Flamer by Mike Curato 
  9. SOLD by Patricia McCormick 
  10. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews 
  11. Tricks by Ellen Hopkins 
  12. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris 
  13. Crank by Ellen Hopkins 
  14. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 
  15. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison 
  16. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas 
  17. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez 
  18. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 
  19. Melissa by Alex Gino 
  20. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher 
  21. Forever by Judy Blume 
  22. Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin 
  23. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 
  24. Identical by Ellen Hopkins 
  25. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 
  26. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult 
  27. Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas 
  28. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 
  29. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson 
  30. Drama by Raina Telgemeier 
  31. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier 
  32. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson 
  33. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas 
  34. Tilt by Ellen Hopkins 
  35. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo 
  36. Beloved by Toni Morrison 
  37. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen 
  38. Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson 
  39. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 
  40. Harry Potter [series] by J. K. Rowling 
  41. Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human by Erika Moen 
  42. The Haters by Jesse Andrews 
  43. The Color Purple by Alice Walker 
  44. Damsel by Elana K. Arnold 
  45. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur 
  46. Lucky by Alice Sebold 
  47. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas 
  48. This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki 
  49. Slaughterhouse-Five, or, the Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death by Kurt Vonnegut 
  50. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
Author Judy Blume and the books "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Canterbury Tales" are featured in a library's Banned Books Week display.
Close up of a Banned Books Week display at an unidentified library, circa 1990.
  1. What Girls Are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold 
  2. Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas 
  3. Perfect by Ellen Hopkins 
  4. Push by Sapphire 
  5. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell 
  6. Breathless by Jennifer Niven 
  7. l8r, g8r by Lauren Myracle 
  8. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott 
  9. I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel 
  10. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel 
  11. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 
  12. Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks 
  13. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo 
  14. Sex Is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg 
  15. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 
  16. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez 
  17. Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold 
  18. A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas 
  19. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 
  20. The Handmaid’s Tale (Graphic Novel) by Reneé Nault 
  21. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins 
  22. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds 
  23. Fallout by Ellen Hopkins 
  24. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls 
  25. Glass by Ellen Hopkins 
  26. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer 
  27. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson 
  28. Burned by Ellen Hopkins 
  29. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan 
  30. Shine by Lauren Myracle 
  31. Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian 
  32. The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater 
  33. Fade by Lisa McMann 
  34. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire 
  35. The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley 
  36. Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love 
  37. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera 
  38. The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle 
  39. More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz 
  40. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 
  41. The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta 
  42. I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson 
  43. Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender 
  44. The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu 
  45. The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed 
  46. The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur 
  47. The Freedom Writers Diary by Freedom Writers 
  48. Heartstopper, Vol. 1 by Alice Oseman 
  49. Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman 
  50. People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins
A man sits on a very large chair holding up a copy of children's book "In the Night Kitchen" by Maurice Sendak
Author Andrew Larsen holds up a copy of Maurice Sendak's "In the Night Kitchen" at the Big Chair during the 2026 ALA Annual Conference.
  1. It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity by Theresa Thorn 
  2. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 
  3. The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger 
  4. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz 
  5. Blankets: An Illustrated Novel by Craig Thompson 
  6. Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher 
  7. ttyl by Lauren Myracle 
  8. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger 
  9. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 
  10. Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas 
  11. We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson 
  12. Smoke by Ellen Hopkins 
  13. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds 
  14. Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by Lev A. C. Rosen 
  15. When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff 
  16. Jesus Land: A Memoir by Julia Scheeres 
  17. The Giver by Lois Lowry 
  18. Traffick by Ellen Hopkins 
  19. A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Lee Dugard 
  20. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers 
  21. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck 
  22. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas 
  23. Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera 
  24. Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson 
  25. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli 
  26. Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart 
  27. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan 
  28. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier 
  29. The Breakaways by Cathy G. Johnson 
  30. Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson 
  31. Rick by Alex Gino 
  32. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis 
  33. Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings 
  34. Boy Toy by Barry Lyga 
  35. Impressions by Jack Booth 
  36. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak 
  37. Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson 
  38. Dear Martin by Nic Stone 
  39. Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero 
  40. Beautiful by Amy Reed 
  41. The You I’ve Never Known by Ellen Hopkins 
  42. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli 
  43. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare 
  44. ttfn by Lauren Myracle 
  45. Gossip Girl [series] by Cecily von Ziegesar 
  46. All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell 
  47. yolo by Lauren Myracle 
  48. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood 
  49. Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff 
  50. Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
  51. Forever for a Year by B. T. Gottfred 
  52. Rumble by Ellen Hopkins 
  53. Native Son by Richard Wright

Note: This list includes 153 total titles, as the final five are tied with an equal number of challenges.

150 YEARS STRONG

THE OFFICIAL ANNIVERSARY BLOG

National Library Legislative Day, circa 1994.

150 Years of Advocacy for Libraries

Gavin Baker September 30, 2026

Advocacy for libraries has been at the heart of the American Library Association’s (ALA) mission for 150 years. A new publication by ALA’s Public Policy and Advocacy office highlights milestones and key accomplishments from ALA’s history. The resulting laws and initiatives have made an indelible impact on America’s libraries and the people they serve.

National Cash Register Company Rolling Library, Dayton, Ohio, circa 1915. From the ALA Archives.

Libraries During the Great Depression

ALA Archives September 21, 2026

During the Great Depression, the WPA—with help from the ALA Library Extension Board—supported public libraries by sponsoring bookmobiles and providing workers for demonstration projects that extended library services to rural communities.