Book challenges: A growing trend impacting libraries across the county
In 2022, concerned community member Michelle Teague asked that the Catawba County School Board remove 24 books from the district’s school libraries. Claiming that these books contained explicit content that she felt children should not be exposed to. Now these books as well as many more are being challenged in libraries across the country.
As featured on
Book challenges can come from community members, parents or activists. In western North Carolina, some school boards saw those challenges come from school board candidates and school board members themselves.
The American Library Association in 2023 documented the highest number of titles targeted for censorship in more than 20 years of tracking.
“I have always imagined that paradise would be some kind of library.” – Jorge Luis Borges
