research topics on banned books

Researching Banned or Challenged Books: Resources for Challenge Research

• Resources for Challenge Research
• Was Winnie the Pooh Banned?

Key Resource

The key resource for researching why a particular title was challenged or banned are the publications of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom.  The Office maintains information on which books are challenged and why and regularly publishes this information in the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy , where there may also be discussion of the events surrounding a challenge, and in a compilation published about every three years, most recently in Banned Books: Defending our Freedom to Read , edited by Robert P. Doyle. (Before 2016, similar information was in the Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom.)

Doyle and others used histories of censorship to compile the initial listing of challenged or banned books; this bibliography is in the Guide , as well as included on a list of books on censorship maintained by the ALA Library.

More recent entries are derived from the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy or Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom.

This publication is available in many libraries around the country, or may be ordered from the ALA Store..

• Books on Censorship Bibliography supporting research on censorship, banned and challenged books, and intellectual freedom. For researching why a particular book has been challenged, we recommend the Banned Books Resource Guide, which is represented on this list by the most recent editions, as well as the entry for the serial comprised of all the editions.
• Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy The official journal of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). JIFP is a double-blind peer reviewed publication, topically focused on practical, moral, ethical, philosophical, and theoretical issues of intellectual freedom and informational privacy within the United States and globally. Published quarterly. more... less... Two most current issues are available by subscription only. Older issues are made available via open access at the link above. ISSN 2474-7459
• Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom Superceded by the Journal Of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy. The Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom was the only journal that reported attempts to remove materials from school and library shelves across the country. The NIF was the source for the latest information on intellectual freedom issues.

Additional ALA Resources

The Banned Books Week pages on the ALA website offer many ways to look at the challenge data that has been collection.  The links provided here will be of use to students doing research.

• Challenged Classics (with reasons) The classics in the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th century, with challenge reports from the 2010 edition of "Banned Books."
• Frequently Challenged Books Most current top ten, with links to statistical analyses and subsets.
• Mapping Censorship This map is drawn from cases documented by ALA and the Kids' Right to Read Project, a collaboration of the National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. Details are available in ALA's "Books Banned and Challenged 2007-2008; 2008-2009; 2009-2010; 2010-2011; 2011-2012; and 2012-2013," and the "Kids' Right to Read Project Report." “Mapping Censorship” was created by Chris Peterson of the National Coalition Against Censorship and Alita Edelman of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.
• Read Banned Books YouTube Channel Videos of Virtual Read-Outs and other videos from ALA OIF.
• Timeline: 30 Years of Librerating :Literature Since 1982, Banned Books Week has rallied librarians, booksellers, authors, publishers, teachers, and readers of all types to celebrate and defend the freedom to read. To commemorate 30 years of Banned Books Week and enter our 31st year of protecting readers' rights, ALA prepared l this timeline of significant banned and challenged books. Timeline powered by Tiki-Toki.

Where else to look....

If your library does not have "Banned Books," use the library catalog to locate books on censorship.  Useful subject headings are "Challenged books--United States" or "Censorship--United States."

Many libraries offer databases enabling access to periodicals and newspapers. Ask your librarian about accessing these--or visit your library's website, library card in hand, to access.

Use newspaper indexes such as the following to read coverage of book challenges in the communities where they occurred.

• LexisNexis - Full-text access to magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times.
• NewsBank - Full-text articles from major metropolitan newspapers.
• ProQuest Historical Newspapers™ - Digital archive offering full-text and full-image articles for significant newspapers dating back to the eighteenth century.

Use literature databases such as the following to seek out biographies of authors, book synopses, bibliographies, and critical analysis.

• Booklist Online - Reviews, awards information, some author information in editorial content
• Gale Literature Resource Center - Has full-text articles and book reviews, biographical essays.
• Library and Information Science Source - Full-text and indexed entries from library science literature, including major review sources
• NovelList - Includes reviews and reading recommendations, reading levels, summaries, and awards books have received.

Often, a general web search of < "[book title]" and (banned or challenged) > will yield up useful articles and blog posts about challenges.  For example, < "looking for alaska" (banned or challenged) > will bring up newspaper coverage--as well as a video by the author--on the censorship challenges faced by Looking for Alaska , by John Green.

Other websites

• Banned Books that Shaped America The Library of Congress created an exhibit, "Books that Shaped America," that explores books that "have had a profound effect on American life." Below is a list of books from that exhibit that have been banned/challenged.
• Banned Books Week The Banned Books Week Coalition is a national alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship.
• Books Challenged or Banned in 2014-2015 A bibliography representing books challenged, restricted, removed, or banned in 2014 and 2015 as reported in the Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom from May 2014 to March 2015 and in American Libraries Direct (AL Direct), by Robert P. Doyle.
• National Coalition Against Censorship Resources for School Teachers and Students Background on the legal and practical questions surrounding school censorship controversies.
• NCTE Intellectual Freedom Center Censorship Challenge Reports Teachers, librarians, school administrators, and parents call upon NCTE for advice and materials regarding censorship challenges in their schools or districts.
• University of Pennsylvania Library "Banned Books Online" A special exhibit of books that have been the objects of censorship or censorship attempts, linking to free e-books.
• Wikipedia's "List of books banned by governments" Tabular listing, alphabetical by title, of books banned by governments, worldwide.
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• Next: Was Winnie the Pooh Banned? >>
• Last Updated: Mar 14, 2024 10:24 AM
• URL: https://libguides.ala.org/Researchingchallengedbooks

Morris Library

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Banned Books: Protect Your Freedom to Read

• Protect Your Freedom to Read
• The Banned Book Collection in Morris

Banned Books Week is celebrated annually, with sponsorship from the American Library Association (ALA), the National Association of College Stores, and many other organizations. According to the ALA, "Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States."

A Worrisome Trend

ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 book challenges reported in 2021. Censors targeted a record 2,571 unique titles in 2022 , a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community or by and about Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color.

• Censorship by the Numbers Resources documenting the number and locations of censorship attempts against libraries and materials compiled by ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom.
• Book Ban Data, ALA Latest numbers from ALA about book bans and challenges in the United States, including preliminary data from the first half of 2023. TL;DR: They're up. A lot.
• Banned and Challenged Books ALA's page devoted to censorship attempts and the annual Banned Books Week celebration.
• Book Bans, PEN America Resources and commentary related to book bans in the U.S., including a comprehensive list of successful school bans, assembled by a national writer's association.
• Ralph E. McCoy Collection of the Freedom of the Press Housed in the Special Collections Research Center on the first floor of Morris Library, the McCoy Collection offers the opportunity to explore issues of censorship and freedom of expression from a historical perspective. It is one of the world's best collections of rare books highlighting the history of First Amendment freedoms. It includes examples of many books that have been banned in the United States and Europe over the centuries. Many of the books listed below part of this collection. more... less... used in Overview of African American history collections in SCRC on Resources for the Study of African American History in Southern Illinois: Overview of Special Collections
• Beacon for Freedom of Expression The Beacon for Freedom project maintains an extensive database of censored publications and publications about censorship.

Banned Books Club and Books Unbanned

The Banned Books Club is a collaboration between libraries and sponsors to make banned books available online and at libraries for free. The University of Chicago and the Digital Public Library of America are offering free access to all Illinois residents through the Palace app.

• Banned Book Club Program to provide free access to electronic copies of banned books. Follow the steps to "Access Banned Books" to get your free card and start reading.
• Banned Books Club at the Palace Project Jump straight to the app the Banned Book Club uses to provide access to available titles.

A number of public libraries nationwide have joined the Books Unbanned initiative, offering free access to commonly challenged or banned titles in eBook form to readers age 13-26. If you fall in that age bracket, sign up for a free temporary library card and read banned books!

• Boston Public Library Books Unbanned Program
• Brooklyn Public Library Books Unbanned Program
• Seattle Public Library Books Unbanned Program

Top Ten Challenged Books from the Last Five Years

Banned in 2021 - 2022

According to PEN America, 1,636 different books were banned—not only challenged, but actually removed from shelves—in classrooms, schools, or libraries in the U.S. for at least a portion of the time between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. The following is a list of these banned titles available through Morris Library.

• Next: The Banned Book Collection in Morris >>
• Last Updated: Feb 22, 2024 11:55 AM
• URL: https://libguides.lib.siu.edu/bannedbooks

The Topics That Lead Book Ban Requests, According to School Leaders

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Over the past year, some parents and activists have attempted to ban books about race, gender, and sexuality from classrooms and school libraries, sparking national headlines and controversies .

A new, nationally representative survey of educators sheds some light on how common these book censorship requests are—and which subjects are most frequently challenged. The EdWeek Research Center surveyed 1,200 teachers, principals, and district leaders in the second half of December.

Over the past three years, almost two-thirds of school and district leaders have not fielded any requests to ban or remove books, the survey found. But 16 percent of school and district leaders say the number of requests to ban books has increased since 2019, while just 2 percent say they have decreased. (Nineteen percent said there’s been no change.)

Books with LGBTQ characters or issues topped the list of reported challenges, with nearly half of school and district leaders who reported book ban requests saying they’ve had somebody ask to remove or ban books of that nature. Other frequently challenged subjects include sex and sexuality that is not violent or abusive, critical race theory, ethnicity/race, racial inequities, gender, and non-traditional family structures.

Suburban administrators are more likely to say book censorship requests have been on the rise than their peers in rural or urban districts. Additionally, more than 1 in 3 administrators in districts with 10,000 or more students report that the number of book ban requests has increased over the last three years. Only 8 percent of administrators in districts with less than 2,500 students reported the same.

The EdWeek Research Center survey results are in line with the American Library Association’s annual list of the top 10 most challenged books in K-12 schools, colleges, and libraries.

In 2020, the most recent year for which the ALA has data, the novel Melissa by Alex Gino—previously published as George— was the most frequently challenged for its depiction of a young transgender girl. The list was otherwise dominated by books about racism, including: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You , a middle-grades adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi’s book about the history of racist ideas in America; All American Boys , a young adult novel that follows the perspectives of both a Black and a white teen after a racist incident of police violence; and Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice , a children’s book about the aftermath of a police shooting of a Black man.

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, said in a November statement that there has been an “unprecedented volume of challenges” to books in fall 2021. Those challenges are largely against materials that focus on LGBTQ issues and books by Black authors or that document the experience of people of color , according to the ALA.

“In my 20 years with ALA, I can’t recall a time when we had multiple challenges coming in on a daily basis,” Caldwell-Stone said.

Critical race theory is cited in many of the complaints, experts say, even if the content in the book has little to do with the academic framework, which posits that racism isn’t just the product of individual bias but is embedded in legal systems and government policies. Over the past year, 13 states have restricted teaching about critical race theory or how teachers can discuss race and gender in class.

Even though most districts haven’t seen overt challenges, the national climate “could create a chilling effect where teachers stick to what they’ve always taught because they perceive it’ll be an easier pathway, there will be less resistance, and that’s such a loss to society, to students, and to teachers,” Emily Kirkpatrick, the executive director for the National Council of Teachers of English, told EdWeek in September .

Yet the EdWeek Research Center survey results show that 57 percent of teachers and 63 percent of principals, along with slightly less than half of district leaders, can come up with a topic they think should be banned from books in their districts’ libraries and classrooms.

Sexual violence or abuse is the topic teachers, principals, and district leaders are most likely to say should be banned, followed by white power/nationalism and critical race theory. Seventeen percent of educators say that books featuring LGBTQ characters or issues should not be allowed in schools.

Education experts say that children should have access to diverse books that serve as “ windows and mirrors "—they should expose readers to new worlds and perspectives while also reflecting readers’ own experiences.

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Banned Books 2023: Let Freedom Read: Home

Celebrate Banned Books Week - October 1-7, 2023

Why Banned Books Week?

• Statement from the American Library Association
• Definitions

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Highlighting the value of free and open access to information, Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek, to publish, to read, and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.  –-  Banned Books Week Q&A

Book Challenge vs. Book Ban

An attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. 

Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. 

A book banning is the actual removal of those materials . 

A change in the access status of material, based on the content of the work and made by a governing authority or its representatives. Such changes include exclusion, restriction, removal, or age/grade level changes.

Intellectual Freedom

The right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored.

Read Banned Books @ St. Kate's Library

My Sister's Keeper

The Qur'an [al-Quran al-hakim]

The Hunger Games

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

In the Night Kitchen

Intellectual Freedom Issues in School Libraries

Intellectual Freedom Manual

Intellectual Freedom Stories from a Shifting Landscape

It's Perfectly Normal

The Kite Runner

Looking for Alaska

Maus I: a Survivor's Tale

Me and Earl and the dying girl

Melissa (formerly Published As GEORGE)

The Holy Bible : Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition

Nasreen's Secret School

Of Mice and Men

Out of Darkness

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Skippyjon Jones

Slaughterhouse-Five

Something Happened in Our Town

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

This book is gay

To Kill a Mockingbird

A Universal History of the Destruction of Books

Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets

The 1619 Project

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Collector's Edition

All American Boys

All Boys Aren't Blue

Almost Perfect

And Tango Makes Three

The Annotated Huckleberry Finn

Banned books: defending our freedom to read

Beyond Banned Books

Beyond Magenta

The Bluest Eye

Book Banning in 21St-Century America

Books under Fire

Brave New World

100 Banned Books

A Court of Mist and Fury

The Color Purple

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Dear Martin

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo

Dreaming in Cuban

Felix Ever After

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Gender Queer: a Memoir

The Glass Castle

His Dark Materials: the Golden Compass (Book 1)

The Handmaid's Tale

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

The Hate U Give

A History of ALA Policy on Intellectual Freedom

A year in review.

• More Than 4,000 Unique Titles Challenged: ALA Releases 2023 Censorship Data From Unite Against Book Bans, March 14, 2024
• Spineless Shelves: Two Years of Book Banning PEN America - December 2023
• I Made the Most Banned Book in America The Nib - September 1, 2023
• State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools PEN America - April 20, 2023
• American Library Association releases preliminary data on 2022 book bans ALANews & Press Center - Sept. 16, 2022
• Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools PEN America
• Book banning in U.S. schools has reached an all-time high: What this means, and how we got here GRID - Aug. 27, 2022

Top 13 Most Challenged Books of 2022

Book Bans in the News

• Florida law led school district to pull 1,600 books — including dictionaries Washington Post, 1/14/24
• The Post reviewed 1,000 school book challenges. Here’s what we found. Washington Post, 12/23/23
• Publishing industry heavy-hitters sue Iowa over state's new school book-banning law Washington Post, 11/30/23
• 'To Be Destroyed': Documentary examines Rapid City's attempted book ban Rapid City Journal, 10/26/23
• North Carolina Retracts Ban on Banned Books Week The Guardian - September 30, 2023
• Senate Hearing Discusses Book Bans The Hill - September 12, 2023
• Public Libraries are the Latest Front in Culture War Battle Over Books Washington Post - July 25, 2023
• Florida Readers Push Back Against Book Bans WUSF Public Media - June 10, 2023
• School Librarians Face a New Penalty in the Banned-Book Wars: Prison Washington Post - May 18, 2023
• The Bible is among dozens of books banned in this Texas school district MPR New, Aug. 18, 2022

Guide Feedback

• Guide feedback We welcome your feedback! Use this form to suggest changes/additions to this guide.

Censorship and Book Challenges by the Numbers

• Who Challenges
• For What Reason(s)
• Mapping Censorship

From the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom

• During the first half of the 2022-23 school year PEN America’s  Index of School Book Bans  lists 1,477 instances of individual books banned, affecting 874 unique titles ,  an increase of 28 percent compared to the prior six months, January – June 2022. That is more instances of book banning than recorded in either the first or second half of the 2021-22 school year.  Over this six-month timeline, the total instances of book bans affected over 800 titles;  this equates to over 100 titles removed from student access each month.
• Overwhelmingly, book banners continue to target stories by and about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.  In this six-month period, 30% of the unique titles banned are books about race, racism, or feature characters of color. Meanwhile, 26% of unique titles banned have LGBTQ+ characters or themes
• The full impact of the book ban movement is greater than can be counted, as “wholesale bans” are restricting access to untold numbers of books in classrooms and school libraries.  This school year, numerous states enacted “wholesale bans” in which entire classrooms and school libraries have been suspended, closed, or emptied of books, either permanently or temporarily. This is largely because teachers and librarians in several states have been directed to catalog entire collections for public scrutiny within short timeframes, under threat of punishment from new, vague laws. These “wholesale bans,” have involved the culling of books that were previously available to students, in ways that are impossible to track or quantify.

The most common themes in book challenges include:

• Books that have to do with LGBTQ topics or characters.
• Books that have to do with sex, abortion, teen pregnancy or puberty.
• Books that have to do with race and racism, or that center on protagonists of color.
• Books that have to do with history, specifically that of Black people.
• EveryLibrary Institute Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson is an independent researcher focused on the networks, organizations, and individual actors who are leading book banning and book challenge efforts in our nation's school libraries and public libraries. Dr. Magnusson's spreadsheet of book bans and challenges has been available online since October 2021 to aid library organizations, library staff, education stakeholders, and concerned parents. Her findings have helped numerous school libraries and public libraries.
• Youth Censorship Database The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) database of K-12 student censorship incidents includes book challenges in schools and libraries, as well as censorship of student art, journalism, and other types of student expression in schools. The map can be filtered based on Reason, State, and other options, along with additional information and links to incident reports.

Freedom to Read Statement

Seventy years ago, leaders from across the literary world joined together in writing to condemn attacks on free expression. The statement at the heart of that endeavor, the Freedom to Read Statement ,was authored by the American Library Association and Association of American Publishers over a period of several days. It begins with this timeless observation:

The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack.     

Read the full Freedom to Read Statement.

From Unite Against Book Bans, 2023

The Fiery History of Banned Books Week

Advocacy and Activism around Banned Books

Whether by providing legal support, educational resources for parents, teachers, and librarians, or opportunities to organize on the grassroots level, there are many organizations which fight against efforts to ban books in school libraries and beyond, and many more which fight censorship more broadly.

Learn more about some of these organizations, and/or get involved, below:

• How to Fight Book Bans: A Tip Sheet for Students From PEN America
• American Library Association, Fight Censorship
• National Coalition Against Censorship & Unite Against Book Bans
• Freedom to Read Foundation
• Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF)
• PEN America, Book Bans
• Book Ban Busters

Book Ban News in Minnesota

• ‘Ban on book bans’ introduced in Minnesota Legislature MPR, 3/21/24
• St. Cloud Library System Tackles Record Number of Requests to Ban, Move Books Minneapolis Star Tribune - November 25, 2023
• Book Ban Attempts on the Rise in Minnesota Schools MPR News - October 12, 2023
• Carver Library Board Declines to Remove 'Gender Queer' From Shelves MPR News - September 12, 2023
• Community Members Challenge Books at Forestview Library Brainerd Dispatch - June 15, 2023
• Gov. Tim Walz Opens 'Little Library' to Fight Book Bans Now This News - March 23, 2023
• Minnesota and the Unbanned Book List Star Tribune - February 14, 2023
• Last Updated: Mar 24, 2024 2:31 PM
• URL: https://libguides.stkate.edu/BBW2023

©2024 St. Catherine University Library , St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

• Harvard Library
• Research Guides
• Harvard Graduate School of Education - Gutman Library

Banned Books

• What is a Banned Book?
• History of Book Banning
• Banned and Challenged Books
• The Role of ChatGPT in Book Banning and Censorship
• Get Involved! Further Resources to Fight Book Bans

Books have been banned or challenged throughout history and this trend continues today. A banned book is a book that may be:

• Removed from a library or libraries
• Not allowed to be published
• Not allowed to enter a country 
• Not allowed to exist, or be physically destroyed such as the case of book burning during Nazi Germany
• The most extreme form of banning is the death or demand for the death of the author, most recently with Salman Rushdie

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials based upon the objections of a person or a group thereby restricting the access of others.

A banning is the removal of those materials that have been challenged and that challenge has succeeded.

• Next: History of Book Banning >>
• Last Updated: Sep 18, 2023 4:29 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/c.php?g=1269000

Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy

Read our research on: Gun Policy | International Conflict | Election 2024

Regions & Countries

Support public library book banning.

Since 1999, support for the idea of banning “books with dangerous ideas” from public school libraries has declined from 55% to 46% and has now fallen to the lowest level of support of the past 20 years, in contrast with the modest increase observed in concerns about pornographic material in magazines and movies. But even in the early 1990s, as few as 48% had supported banning such books. While there are relatively modest partisan differences in opinions about banning dangerous books, there are divisions within parties, especially among Democrats. Two-thirds of liberal Democrats (67%) disagree that dangerous books should be banned — and 52% completely disagree. By comparison, most conservative and moderate Democrats (56%) agree with the banning of dangerous books (and a relatively large proportion — 37% — completely agrees). Republicans are somewhat less divided, although 52% of conservative Republicans favor a ban on such books compared with 40% of moderate and liberal Republicans. Read More

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About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Banned Books: Freedom to Read

• Read Banned Books
• Banned Books Week
• Most Challenged Books

Data & Reports on Book Bans & Challenges

Censorship by the numbers infographic (american library association).

• Get Involved
• Public Library Access
• USC Libraries Help
• Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools (Pen America, 2023) Update on Book Bans in the 2022-2023 School Year Shows Expanded Censorship of Themes Centered on Race, History, Sexual Orientation and Gender.
• Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor (Pen America, 2023) In the 2022–23 school year, from July 1, 2022, to June 31, 2023, PEN America recorded 3,362 instances of book bans in US public school classrooms and libraries. These bans removed student access to 1,557 unique book titles, the works of over 1,480 authors, illustrators, and translators. Authors whose books are targeted are most frequently female, people of color, and/or LGBTQ+ individuals.
• Book Ban Data (American Library Association) Preliminary data documenting a continued uptick in attempts to censor books, materials, and services across public, school, and academic libraries in the United States during the first part of 2023
• Censorship by the Numbers (American Library Association) 2022 data compiled by ALA represents a snapshot of book censorship throughout 2022.
• Top 13 Most Challenged Books of 2022 (American Library Association) This page lists the 13 most challenged books of 2023 and what each book was challenged for. ALA documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago.

• << Previous: Most Challenged Books
• Next: Get Involved >>
• Last Updated: Mar 5, 2024 2:27 PM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/bannedbooks

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Books: challenged, banned, and burned

• Challenged, banned, and burned
• West Virginia book challenges
• Recently in the United States
• Levar Burton
• Questions to ask

Open online sources

• Laws, trials, hearings, and cases
• Young Adult books and reading
• Read banned books
• Books about banned books
• Prisons and book banning
• Teachers, libraries, advocates
• Lighten up: comic relief

Background reading for book banning and burning as a research topic

Explore book banning and burning as a topic or specific incidents in these sources for background reading.

• CREDO Reference This link opens in a new window A collection of nearly 500 encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference books provides a good starting point for research.
• Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window A collection of specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographical, business and literary sources.
• Banned books - Top 3 pros and cons Nicely balanced summary of clashing perspectives and issues. (2018). ProCon headlines. Credo Reference.
• #Censorship articles at Book Riot
• Researching Banned or Challenged Books: Resources for Challenge Research

Selected article databases to research authors and challenged, banned or burned books

If the default search results are unsatisfactory

• try advanced search
• experiment with search terms: more or fewer, synonyms, various combinations

If you feel stuck after trying multiple searches and databases

• get support from the Libraries Ask a Librarian service

Newspaper databases to locate articles about book challenges and bans

• News databases Many options to explore by geographic location and time period

Recommended news agencies online

These two sources are regularly at the top/center of the Media Bias Chart

Reuters  

Associated Press (AP)  

Search tips:

In Google  site:reuters.com  or site:apnews.com can be more effective than a site's search box

With the site: feature and for news, try the state,  town, library, school, or book name, along with variations on banned books  

• << Previous: Questions to ask
• Next: Laws, trials, hearings, and cases >>
• Last Updated: Mar 11, 2024 4:33 PM
• URL: https://libguides.wvu.edu/bannedbooks

Banned and Challenged Books

Banned and challenged, what is banned books week.

• Frequently Challenged Books
• Why Are Books Challenged?
• Take Action

Banned Books Week 2023

October 1 - 7, 2023

Welcome to the Banned and Challenged Books Research Guide!

In a time where difficult conversations are happening, it is especially important to reflect on why books are being challenged. These books have themes and subject matter that touch on these very difficult conversations.

Explore this guide to find out more information on why books are challenged, what books have been challenged, and what you can be doing to help!

" Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. For 40 years, the annual event has brought together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship."

Source: American Library Association [ALA] Banned Books Week (October 1 - 7, 2023)

Challenged : An attempt to remove or restrict access to a book, based on objections due to personal beliefs or values.

Banned : The actual removal of a book, based on objections due to personal beliefs or values.

Relocated : A book being hidden or moved to a less-noticed area as an attempt to challenge or ban the book.

• Next: Frequently Challenged Books >>
• Last Updated: Mar 1, 2024 11:45 AM
• URL: https://libguides.regiscollege.edu/bannedbooks

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How Book Bans Impact Educators and Students

First Book Research & Insights study reveals how educators and their students are responding to book bans.

New Study Reveals the Damaging Impact Book Bans Have on Teacher Morale and Student Learning

One-third of educators surveyed are facing book bans, challenges, or policy restrictions..

About the Study

To understand the impact that the national conversation around banned books is having on educators’ ability to teach and students’ ability to learn, Research & Insights surveyed educators in the First Book Network.

While the majority of educators that responded to this survey have not been required to remove books from their classroom libraries, this study revealed that the conversation about book bans and book challenges is having a chilling effect on educators and students beyond the districts that have experienced book bans:

• 46% of educators report that the conversation around banned books already does or might influence the titles they choose for their class.
• 37% of educators report that the conversation around banned books already does or might influence the way they teach.
• 63% of educators report that the current conversation around banned books is impacting their teaching to some degree.

This study reveals that the conversation and actions to ban and/or censor books in schools, libraries, and programs are having a negative impact on educators’ ability to teach and students’ ability to learn — and these negative impacts reach far beyond just the districts that are facing bans. In addition, the book banning efforts are yet another example of decisions being made that impact or restrict what happens in classrooms without opportunities for educator voices to be considered in the decision process. This may further undermine educator expertise and erode educator morale.

To learn more about how the study was conducted click below:

Key findings, a survey of more than 1,500 educators on the national conversation around book challenges and bans is negatively impacting their classrooms, profession, and student learning..

• 7% of educators have removed books from their classroom or program library due to book bans or challenges; more than twice that indicate they have removed books for other reasons.
• 87% of educators surveyed believe book bans are rarely or never justified.
• 65% of educators said that the banning of books is having a negative impact on their ability to teach.
• 71% of educators, regardless of whether their district has faced bans, believe book banning undermines their expertise, makes them feel distrusted, and increases their stress.
• Nearly two-thirds of educators said that book banning is having a negative impact on their ability to teach.

Encouraging freedom of choice and discussing banned books with students positively influences their willingness to initiate discussions about banned books and enhances their engagement in reading.

• Just over 40% of educators indicated that they are having conversations with their students about banned books.
• 31% of educators reported that students are initiating these conversations.
• 78% of educators indicated that students are reading more when banned books are available as an option.
• 72% of educators indicated that restricting access to certain books decreases students’ engagement in reading.

To view the full report, including additional data and comments from educators, click below:

Conversations on the Impact of Diverse and Banned Books in the Classroom

A first book research & insights webinar.

First Book Research & Insights hosted a well-attended webinar event to share results from their Diverse Books Impact Study and Banned Books Survey.

This data-driven session:

• Featured a discussion about diverse books and how including them in classroom libraries can be beneficial for students and teachers.
• Shed light on why banning certain diverse books can be harmful to the learning process.

Instead of teaching lessons that focused on Banned Book Week this year, my administrator asked me to pivot instruction to the idea of freedom to read. Instead of talking about all of the book banning happening in the US right now, we talked about how students have the freedom to read the books they want. First Book Educator

New First Book Study Tackles National Issue of Banned Books

For access to diverse books to share with your students, go to the fbmarketplace.org ., about first book research & insights.

First Book Research & Insights regularly gathers qualitative and quantitative data regarding the barriers to educational equity for children in low-income communities by directly surveying educators working with children in historically marginalized and underserved communities. This research drives First Book’s models, the resources it provides, and its partnerships. In addition, educator insights benefit the public, private, and social sectors, enabling input from educators to inform the design and refinement of programs, products, and strategies. This can increase resource effectiveness and adoption rates to better support both educators and children growing up in poverty, which disproportionately impacts children of color.

Founded in 1992, First Book is a nonprofit social enterprise building a world where all children have access to a quality education. We are on a mission to ensure that all children, regardless of their background or zip code, can succeed by removing barriers to equitable education because education transforms lives.

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Banned Books: Home

Welcome to the Polk State College library guide for banned books research topics.  Below you will find suggested books/ebooks and recommended databases. If you need help, click the link for Ask a Librarian.

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• Last Updated: Feb 13, 2024 4:03 PM
• URL: https://libguides.polk.edu/bannedbooks

Polk State College is committed to equal access/equal opportunity in its programs, activities, and employment. For additional information, visit polk.edu/compliance .

Banned Books!

• Banned Books Week 2023
• Banned & Challenged Classics

The following is from the American Libraries Magazine article 50 Years of Intellectual Freedom, written by OIF staff celebrating the office’s anniversary:

"Banned Books Week was launched in the 1980s, a time of increased challenges, organized protests, and the Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) Supreme Court case, which ruled that school officials can’t ban books in libraries simply because of their content.

Banned books were showcased at the 1982 American Booksellers Association (ABA) BookExpo America trade show in Anaheim, California. At the entrance to the convention center towered large, padlocked metal cages, with some 500 challenged books stacked inside and a large overhead sign cautioning that some people considered these books dangerous.

Drawing on the success of the exhibit, ABA invited OIF Director Judith Krug to join a new initiative called Banned Books Week, along with the National Association of College Stores. The three organizations scrambled to put something together by the September show date and ended up distributing a news release and a publicity kit, hoping that with their combined membership of 50,000 people, they could continue to spark a conversation about banned books.

The initiative took off. Institutions and stores hosted read-outs, and window displays morphed into literary graveyards or mysterious collections of brown-bagged books. Major news outlets such as PBS and the New York Times covered the event, and mayors and governors issued proclamations affirming the week.

ALA is currently part of a national coalition to promote Banned Books Week, along with 14 other contributors and sponsors. Krug led the Banned Books Week efforts as OIF director until her unexpected death in 2009. Her legacy lives on in the Freedom to Read Foundation’s Judith F. Krug Memorial Fund, a grant awarded to nonprofits to host Banned Books Week events.

Today, Banned Books Week coverage by mainstream media reaches an estimated 2.8 billion readers, and more than 90,000 publishing industry and library subscribers. The Banned Books page remains one of the top two most popular pages on the ALA website."

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• Last Updated: Apr 11, 2024 10:51 AM
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Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books: 2010-2019

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This list draws attention to literary censorship but only provides a snapshot of book challenges. About 82-97% of challenges remain unreported, estimates OIF, which compared results from several independent studies of third-party FOIA requests documenting school and library book censorship with the information in its database.

OIF offers direct support to communities to defend their right to access information. If you’re able, please consider a donation to OIF to ensure this important work continues.

• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• George by Alex Gino
• And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
• Drama by Raina Telgemeier
• Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
• Internet Girls (series) by Lauren Myracle
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• I Am Jazz by Jazz Jennings and Jessica Herthel
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Bone (series) by Jeff Smith
• The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
• Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
• A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss
• Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg
• Alice McKinley (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
• It's Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris
• Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
• Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
• It's a Book by Lane Smith
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
• What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
• A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer
• Bad Kitty (series) by Nick Bruel
• Crank by Ellen Hopkins
• Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
• The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby by Dav Pilkey
• This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman
• This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
• A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Goosebumps (series) by R.L. Stine
• In Our Mothers' House by Patricia Polacco
• Lush by Natasha Friend
• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• The Holy Bible
• This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
• Gossip Girl (series) by Cecily von Ziegesar
• House of Night (series) by P.C. Cast
• My Mom's Having A Baby by Dori Hillestad Butler
• Neonomicon by Alan Moore
• The Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
• Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle
• Dreaming In Cuban by Cristina Garcia
• Fade by Lisa McMann
• The Family Book by Todd Parr
• Feed by M.T. Anderson
• Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach
• Habibi by Craig Thompson
• House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
• Jacob's New Dress by Sarah Hoffman
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
• Monster by Walter Dean Myers
• Nasreen’s Secret School by Jeanette Winter
• Saga by Brian K. Vaughan
• Stuck in the Middle by Ariel Schrag
• The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal
• 1984 by George Orwell
• A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
• Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher
• Awakening by Kate Chopin
• Burned by Ellen Hopkins
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
• Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
• Glass by Ellen Hopkins
• Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesle´a Newman
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Madeline and the Gypsies by Ludwig Bemelmans
• My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis
• Prince and Knight by Daniel Haa ck
• Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology by Amy Sonnie
• Skippyjon Jones (series) by Judith Schachner
• So Far from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
• The Color of Earth (series) by Tong-hwa Kim
• The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter
• The Walking Dead (series) by Robert Kirkman
• Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
• Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah S Brannen
• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

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Banned Books Initiative

• Banned Books Initative: 2023-2024
• Reading Groups: 2023-2024 Academic Year
• Top "13" Banned Books of 2022
• Banned Books Throughout the Years
• Latest Data on Banned & Challenged Books
• Censorship by the Numbers
• ALA Books Unite Us 2022
• Teaching, Research & Other Resources
• Last Updated: Feb 26, 2024 1:45 PM
• URL: https://researchguides.library.vanderbilt.edu/bannedbooks

These Were the Most Challenged Books in America Last Year

Titles with LGBTQ themes dominated the American Library Association’s newly released list

Ella Feldman

Daily Correspondent

In 2023, the most challenged books across the country were about LGBTQ individuals and people of color, according to a report released today by the American Library Association (ALA). The news follows last month’s announcement that book-banning attempts have reached record highs .

“More and more, we’re seeing challenges that say, simply, ‘This book has a gay character,’ or, ‘This book deals with LGBTQ themes,’ even if it has no sexuality in it,” Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the ALA’s office for intellectual freedom, tells the New York Times ’ Elizabeth A. Harris. “We’re seeing those naked attacks on simply the visibility of and knowledge about LGBTQ lives and experiences.”

According to the ALA, 4,240 unique titles were targeted for censorship in schools and libraries nationwide last year. That’s a 65 percent increase from 2022—and the highest number ever recorded by the organization.

The newly published report includes a list of the most targeted books across the United States. For the third year in a row, Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer: A Memoir took the top spot. Published in 2019, the graphic novel traces Kobabe’s experience navigating gender identity and sexuality in adolescence and adulthood.

The author has spoken in the past about how strongly readers have responded to the text. As Kobabe told NBC News ’ Matt Lavietes in 2021, “I’ve been receiving almost weekly, and sometimes more than weekly, emails from readers thanking me for writing it, telling me how much it meant to them, saying it helped them understand themselves.”

Gender Queer has been controversial ever since its publication, inspiring numerous political and legal battles. However, the controversy has only increased interest in the title, which is “selling better than ever,” as the author told Slate ’s Dan Kois in 2022.

“A book being challenged or banned does not hurt the book and does not hurt the author,” Kobabe said. “The people who are hurt in a challenge are the marginalized readers in the community where the challenge takes place.”

According to the ALA, the second most challenged book in 2023 was George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue (2020), an essay collection describing the author’s experience growing up as a queer Black man in New Jersey and ​​Virginia.

Next on the list is Juno Dawson’s This Book Is Gay (2014), a nonfiction title intended to help young people navigate queer identity, followed by Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999), a novel touching on themes including sexuality, mental health and abuse. Following the premiere of a film adaptation in 2012, the book became a New York Times bestseller .

The list also includes Toni Morrison ’s The Bluest Eye , which is frequently taught in high school English classes. Published in 1970, Morrison’s first novel follows Pecola, a young Black girl growing up during the Great Depression, and explores topics such as racism and sexual abuse.

The ALA’s publication of the report coincides with the beginning of the organization’s National Library Week , a celebration of America’s library systems.

“Each challenge, each demand to censor these books is an attack on our freedom to read, our right to live the life we choose, and an attack on libraries as community institutions that reflect the rich diversity of our nation,” says Caldwell-Stone in a statement . “When we tolerate censorship, we risk losing all of this.”

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Ella Malena Feldman is a writer and editor based in Washington, D.C. She examines art, culture and gender in her work, which has appeared in Washington City Paper , DCist and the Austin American-Statesman .

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New PEN America Report Finds School Book Bans at Record Levels

In a new report out this week, PEN America found that the number of individual books banned by schools across the nation surged to record levels through the first half of the 2023-2024 school year.

The new report, Banned in the USA: Narrating the Crisis , reports 4,349 book bans recorded across 23 states and 52 public school districts from July to December 2023. PEN officials noted that more book bans were recorded during the first half of the current school year than in the entire 2022-2023 year, in which 3,362 books were targeted.

“For anyone who cares about the bedrock of American values and the protection of free expression, this report should be a red alert,” said the report’s lead author, Sabrina Baêta, Freedom to Read program manager at PEN, in a release. “Book bans are targeting narratives about race and sexual identities and sexual content writ large, and they show no sign of stopping.”

Among the report’s key findings:

• The more than 4,000 book bans in the first half of this school year suggest that the pace of book banning is speeding up year over year
• Once again, Florida led the nation with 3,135 bans acrss 11 school districts—over 1,600 of which came from the Escambia County Public Schools
• Behind Florida, Wisconsin came in second with 481 bans, with 444 of those bans stemming from a single complaint; Iowa came in third, with 142 bans, followed by Texas, with 141
• The campaign to ban books is active in both red and blue districts
• Would-be book banners continue to use “obscenity” claims and hyperbolic rhetoric about “porn in schools” to justify banning books about sexual violence and LGBTQ+ topics, as well as attacking themes of race and racism by “advancing rhetoric disparaging ‘critical race theory,’ ‘woke ideology,’ and efforts to ensure library collections are diverse and inclusive”

But there is also hope, the report finds. Now into the third year of an organized right-wing attack on the freedom to read, PEN America also found that "resistance" to book banning is also on the rise.

“Galvanized by the actions of the very students most impacted by book bans, a broad coalition of educators, librarians, parents, authors, and advocates are organizing in ways large and small to protect the freedom to read,” the report states. “The growing resistance to the book banning movement is a signal that today’s censorship efforts may be losing in the popular consciousness. But the crisis is not over. Every day, librarians are laid off and public libraries thrown into disarray, their already precarious funding further threatened. Educators are left unsure of their job security and physical safety, undermining their ability to do their jobs.”

The report is the latest in PEN America’s Banned in the USA series, exploring educational censorship in America’s schools. Prior to today's release, a report last September found a 33% increase in school book bans , and a report in April 2023, Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools , explored how state legislation was fueling bans. With the inclusion of the organization's two previous reports, PEN America has documented more than 10,000 book bans so far.

The PEN America report comes a month after the American Library Association reported a similar acceleration in book banning, finding that the number of unique titles targeted for censorship surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022, once again hitting record levels.

In the ALA’s annual State of America's Libraries report, released on April 8 during National Library Week, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA's office for intellectual freedom, put the three-year surge in book bans in perspective , noting that the ALA tracked more book bans 2023 than in the previous 20 years combined.

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Evolution's recipe book: How 'copy paste' errors cooked up the animal kingdom

A series of whole genome and gene duplication events that go back hundreds of millions of years have laid the foundations for tissue-specific gene expression, according to a new study in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution . The 'copy paste' errors allowed animals to keep one copy of their genome or genes for fundamental functions, while the second copy could be used as raw material for evolutionary innovation. Events like these, at varying degrees of scale, occurred constantly throughout the bilaterian evolutionary tree and enabled traits and behaviours as diverse as insect flight, octopus camouflage and human cognition.

700 million years ago, a remarkable creature emerged for the first time. Though it may not have been much to look at by today's standards, the animal had a front and a back, a top and a bottom. This was a groundbreaking adaptation at the time, and one which laid down the basic body plan which most complex animals, including humans, would eventually inherit.

The inconspicuous animal resided in the ancient seas of Earth, likely crawling along the seafloor. This was the last common ancestor of bilaterians, a vast supergroup of animals including vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals), and invertebrates (insects, arthropods, molluscs, worms, echinoderms and many more).

To this day, more than 7,000 groups of genes can be traced back to the last common ancestor of bilaterians, according to a study of 20 different bilaterian species including humans, sharks, mayflies, centipedes and octopuses. The findings were made by researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona and are published today in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution .

Remarkably, the study found that around half of these ancestral genes have since been repurposed by animals for use in specific parts of the body, particularly in the brain and reproductive tissues. The findings are surprising because ancient, conserved genes usually have fundamental, important jobs that are needed in many parts of the body.

When the researchers took a closer look, they found a series of serendipitous 'copy paste' errors during bilaterian evolution were to blame. For example, there was a significant moment early in the history of vertebrates. A bunch of tissue-specific genes first appeared coinciding with two whole genome duplication events. Animals could keep one copy for fundamental functions, while the second copy could be used as raw material for evolutionary innovation. Events like these, at varying degrees of scale, occurred constantly throughout the bilaterian evolutionary tree.

"Our genes are like a vast library of recipes that can be cooked up differently to create or change tissues and organs. Imagine you end up with two copies of a recipe for paella by accident. You can keep and enjoy the original recipe while evolution tweaks the extra copy so that it makes risotto instead. Now imagine the entire recipe book is copied -- twice -- and the possibilities it opens for evolution. The legacy of these events, which took place hundreds of millions of years ago, lives on in most complex animals today," explains Federica Mantica, author of the paper and researcher at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona.

The authors of the study found many examples of new, tissue-specific functions made possible by the specialisation of these ancestral genes. For example, the TESMIN and tomb genes, which originated from the same ancestor, ended up independently playing a specialised role in the testis both in vertebrates and insects. Their importance is highlighted by the fact that problems with these genes can disrupt sperm production, affecting fertility in both mice and fruit flies.

The specialisation of ancestral genes also laid some foundations for the development of complex nervous systems. For example, in vertebrates, the researchers found genes critical for the formation of myelin sheaths around nerve cells, which are essential for fast nerve signal transmission. In humans they also identified FGF17 , which is thought to play an important role in maintaining cognitive functions into old age.

In insects, specific genes became specialised in muscles and in the epidermis for cuticle formation, contributing to their ability to fly. In the skin of octopuses, other genes became specialised to perceive light stimulI, contributing to their ability to change colour, camouflage and communicate with other octopuses.

By studying the evolution of species at the tissue level, the study demonstrates that changes in the way genes are used in different parts of the body have played a big role in creating new and unique features in animals. In other words, when genes start acting in specific tissues, it can lead to the development of new physical traits or abilities, which ultimately contributes to animal evolution.

"Our work makes us rethink the roles and functions that genes play. It shows us that genes that are crucial for survival and have been preserved through millions of years can also very easily acquire new functions in evolution. It reflects evolution's balancing act between preserving vital roles and exploring new paths," concludes ICREA Research Professor Manuel Irimia, co-author of the paper and researcher at the Centre for Genomic Regulation.

• Evolutionary Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Early Humans
• Human Evolution
• Charles Darwin
• Computational genomics
• Gene therapy
• DNA microarray
• Human cloning

Story Source:

Materials provided by Center for Genomic Regulation . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Federica Mantica, Luis P. Iñiguez, Yamile Marquez, Jon Permanyer, Antonio Torres-Mendez, Josefa Cruz, Xavier Franch-Marro, Frank Tulenko, Demian Burguera, Stephanie Bertrand, Toby Doyle, Marcela Nouzova, Peter D. Currie, Fernando G. Noriega, Hector Escriva, Maria Ina Arnone, Caroline B. Albertin, Karl R. Wotton, Isabel Almudi, David Martin, Manuel Irimia. Evolution of tissue-specific expression of ancestral genes across vertebrates and insects . Nature Ecology & Evolution , 2024; DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02398-5

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Office of the Vice President for Research

Martín-estudillo named new director of obermann center for advanced studies.

Luis Martín-Estudillo , professor and collegiate scholar in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will serve as the next director of the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies (OCAS). His appointment will begin July 1. 

“We are very excited that Professor Martín-Estudillo has agreed to lead the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies into its next chapter,” said Kristy Nabhan-Warren, associate vice president for research. “He brings a wealth of international connections, fresh ideas, and a proven track record of collaboration across units and disciplines here at Iowa and beyond. The search committee was deeply impressed with his vision for the center, and the campus feedback we solicited confirmed and amplified our excitement for new possibilities for OCAS.”

For more than four decades, the  OCAS has served as an interdisciplinary hub for artists, scholars, and researchers who bridge campus with the larger world. 

Situated on Church Street on the north end of campus, the center provides offices for six fellows-in-residence each semester, as well as funding for a major annual humanities conference, small group collaborations, and faculty book completion workshops, along with many other programs. The center is also a nexus for university-community activities, including lectures, workshops, and performances.

“I’m tremendously excited to lead a productive, inspiring center—one that is open to our whole community of researchers, scholars and artists at every stage of their studies and careers and attracts the presence of enriching national and international guests. I envision a global, interdisciplinary research center with a humanistic ethos,” said Martín-Estudillo.

Martín-Estudillo specializes in modern and contemporary Spanish cultural and intellectual history and criticism. He has also published broadly on early modern topics and visual culture. His scholarship has appeared in journals such as  Goya, Hispanic Review, Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, Ínsula, Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, Pasajes: Revista de Pensamiento Contemporáneo  and  Romance Quarterly . He is the Executive Editor of the Hispanic Issues  book series and of the journal Hispanic Issues Online .

A recipient of three awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Martín-Estudillo has also won several awards from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, including the Collegiate Teaching Award, the Dean's Scholar Award, the Collegiate Scholar Award. 

His recently authored and edited books include:  Filosofía y tiempo final  (2011),  The Rise of Euroskepticism: Europe and Its Critics in Spanish Culture  (2018)  Despertarse de Europa. Arte, literatura, euroescepticismo  (2019) and  Goya and the Mystery of Reading , for which he won the  2023 Goldberg Prize .

Martín-Estudillo will replace Teresa Mangum, professor in the Departments of Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies and English, who is retiring after serving as the OCAS director since 2010. 

The OCAS is a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Research.