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Found a wild stat about banned books in my town's library
I was looking through our local library's records online last night and noticed they had a whole section of books that were challenged but not banned. The number surprised me: 47 different books were formally challenged in our county over the last 3 years, but only 3 got removed. I dug into the reasons and most were about language or LGBTQ topics. The biggest shock was that a kids' picture book about penguins was challenged because someone thought it was about same-sex parenting. Have any of you checked your library's challenge list or seen similar weird complaints?
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the_jessica1mo ago
Actually I think 47 challenges is pretty low for a county this size, libraries get complaints from all kinds of people with different views. @hall.nora's joke about capitalism made me chuckle but the penguin thing shows how some parents will reach for anything to protect their kids from stuff they don't understand. The fact that only 3 got removed means the system mostly works even if the complaints sound silly sometimes.
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michael_craig2mo ago
47 challenges over just 3 years seems like a lot for one county, honestly. That penguin book complaint is hilarious though, like someone really thought a picture book about birds was pushing a secret agenda. I mean, did the complaining person think the penguins were holding flippers or something?
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