Books

 Publishers Weekly - One of the persistent themes to emerge from the ongoing nationwide surge in book banning is that the bans are being pursued by a vocal, politically motivated minority. This week, a new survey report from the Knight Foundation is offering more support for that conclusion, finding that public engagement with efforts to ban books in public school libraries and classrooms is limited, despite a dramatic surge in book challenges since 2021.

The survey, based on a sizable national sample of more than 4,500 adults, found that most Americans feel informed about efforts to ban books in schools. But just 3% of respondents said that they have personally engaged on the issue—with 2% getting involved on the side of maintaining access to books, and 1% seeking to restrict access. Overall, a solid majority of respondents expressed support for the freedom to read, and expressed high levels of trust in their local teachers and school librarians.

“Strong sentiment is lopsided, with strong opponents of book restrictions outnumbering strong supporters by nearly 3-1,” the survey report states. “In general terms, 78% of adults are confident that their community’s public schools select appropriate books for students to read. Additionally, more people say it is a bigger concern to restrict students’ access to books that have educational value than it is to provide them with access to books that have inappropriate content.”

And while most Americans see “age appropriateness” as a legitimate issue, “concern about exposure to inappropriate books is limited,” the survey found. Just 7% of parents with reading-age children reported that their child has accessed what they consider to be an age-inappropriate book at school.