Book bans in Connecticut appear to be decreasing, but state officials say the fight over book censorship is far from over, even in a state with increased state protections for libraries and librarians.
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz called on residents Thursday to support books which are threatened to be banned.
“We have to stand up to defend the freedom to read and learn and be our true selves without fear,” Bysiewicz said. “Books have so much to teach us, and we have to keep our minds open to new ideas and new opportunities, and to do that, we have to keep our library shelves open as well.”
During an appearance at Hartford Public Library Thursday, Bysiewicz commemorated Banned Books Week. The annual week-long campaign by the American Library Association (ALA) is held to condemn book censorship.
Bysiewicz’s appearance comes months after Connecticut passed a bill mandating greater safeguards against book bans across the state. But Hartford Public Library CEO Bridget Quinn said attempts to pull books from library shelves are ongoing.
Quinn said the ban attempts in Connecticut are decreasing, which is in line with national trends according to the ALA.
In 2023 Connecticut faced around 117 attempts. But in 2024, the number of individual challenges dropped below 20. But Quinn believes much of that is due to underreporting.
The books continuing to face censorship tend to reflect diverse backgrounds.
“Over the last few years, we've seen more and more challenges to content specifically about marginalized communities, but not just about those,” Quinn said. There are some ever present ones, including The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, constantly on that banned books list.”
The LGBTQ+ community is also one of the most impacted. The ALA stated many book bans target books depicting LGBTQ+ experiences.
State officials like Democratic State Rep. Dominique Johnson representing Norwalk and Westport says those books can help young people come to grips with their identities.
Johnson referred to a book on LGBTQ+ people she ended up donating to a library.
“They can see that we are there for them now as the next gen.” Johnson said. “I didn't have access to the stories of my elders in the same way. So this is progress, and this is an amazing asset for all of our communities, when anybody of any age can come in and see themselves reflected on the shelves.”
However, Hartford Public Library can count on increased state support to defend against bans. The new state law requires an educational or professional reason for removing a book from a library, protects library staff from legal action when following library board approved policies and ensures books facing a ban attempt, remain on library shelves. Any attempt at removing a book at a municipal library has to be from a local resident in Connecticut.
The ALA stated many ban attempts are part of highly coordinated campaigns, and only 16 percent of all banning attempts last year came from local parents.
