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The banner reads, "Banned Books Week Oct. 5-11, 2025, Censorship is so 1984. Read for your Rights," with the word "censorship" crossed out in red.

Top Ten Most Challenged Books

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The banner reads, "Banned Books Week Oct. 5-11, 2025, Censorship is so 1984. Read for your Rights," with the word "censorship" crossed out in red.

The Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2025 list is available now on the ALA website.

The American Library Association condemns censorship and works to defend each person’s right to read under the First Amendment and to ensure free access to information. Every year, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in order to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools. The lists are based on information from confidential reports filed by library professionals and community members, as well as news stories published throughout the United States.

Because many book challenges are not reported to the ALA or covered by the press, the data compiled by ALA represent only a snapshot of censorship attempts in libraries.

The 2024 data reported to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) shows that the majority of book censorship attempts are now originating from organized movements. Pressure groups and government entities that include elected officials, board members and administrators initiated 72% of demands to censor books in school and public libraries. Parents only accounted for 16% of demands to censor books, while 5% of challenges were brought by individual library users. The 120 titles most frequently targeted for censorship during 2024 are all identified on partisan book rating sites, which provide tools for activists to demand the censorship of library books.

The most common justifications for censorship provided by complainants were false claims of illegal obscenity for minors; inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters or themes; and covering topics of race, racism, equity, and social justice.

Since 2021, ALA has tracked a sharp spike in censorship attempts in libraries. In 2024, ALA recorded the third highest number of book challenges since tracking began in 1990: ALA documented 821 attempts to censor library books and other materials in 2024 across all library types, a decrease from 2023, when a record high 1,247 attempts were reported. ALA recorded attempts to remove 2,452 unique titles in 2024, which significantly exceeds the average of 273 unique titles that were challenged annually during 2001–2020.

Looking for the most challenged books from previous years? Check out the Top 10 Most Challenged Books Archive for lists and data going back to 2001, as well as the 100 most challenged books of past decades.

Finding Community and Connection at the Library

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An older woman in a striped shirt helps a younger woman start a crochet project with yellow yarn.
Participants gather at HCLS Central Branch for an ongoing class focusing on knitting and needlepoint.

by Emily B.

These days, it seems more difficult than ever to find your community and make genuine connections. Over the past four years, the pandemic has re-shaped our lives. The way that we live, communicate, and connect has changed. These rapid changes led U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy to issue an advisory on the “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” in 2023.

Dr. Murthy remarked, “We’re seeing more forces that take us away from one another and fewer of the forces that used to bring us together.” Adjusting to this new social landscape is tough, especially for older Americans. It can be even more daunting without the built-in social opportunities found at work and school. Read the U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on social connection at http://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/connection.

Part of the framework to address the loneliness epidemic calls for a strengthening of social infrastructure, which includes public libraries and senior centers. These types of physical community spaces, known as “third places,” are any social space separate from your home (first place) or work (second place).

Howard County Library System’s classes and events are a great way to connect and find a community. Here’s a sampling of some of our ongoing offerings:

If you love to read, try The Unbook Reading Group. Meeting monthly at Backwater Books in Old Ellicott City, it offers an opportunity for readers to connect and chat without the pressure of assigned reading.

Get crafty with a range of creative classes for adults at various HCLS branches. Connect and make a new craft in a supportive, friendly environment with Craft Works. Pins and Needles meets every Thursday, alternating between HCLS Central and Miller Branches. Converse with other adults
as you work on your knitting, crochet, embroidery, or sewing project.

Give Mah Jongg a try at HCLS Miller Branch. Mah Jongg Meet Up occurs twice a month, welcoming players of all experience levels. Looking to stay active? Start your Mondays off on the right foot Walking with East Columbia Branch and 50+ Center.

You can find and register for even more classes and events for adults at hclibrary.org. Enter the class name into the search bar.

  • Craft Works @ Central Branch | Dates and times vary between one Tuesday evening and one Thursday afternoon every month.
  • Walking with East Columbia & 50+ Center | Mondays; 9:30 – 10:30 am
  • Pins & Needles | Every Thursday; 10 am – 12 pm with 1st and 3rd Thursdays @ Central and 2nd and 4th & 5th Thursdays @ Miller
  • UnBook Reading Group @ Backwater Books | Wednesdays, 6:30 – 7:30 pm May 15, Jun 12
  • Mah Jongg Meetup @ Miller | 2nd and last Tuesday evenings; 6:30 – 8 pm
  • Bingo Social | Thu May 16 2 – 4 pm at Glenwood & Thu Jun 27 2 – 4 pm East Columbia
The Statue of Liberty reading her book, with text: Freadom, Celebrate the right to read.

National Library Week: Right to Read Day

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Ready, set, library! It’s National Library Week, and we encourage everyone to explore all the library has to offer. 

Libraries give us a green light to experience something truly special: a place to connect with others, learn new skills, and pursue our passions through book clubs, classes for children, activities for teens, author events, and more. At Howard County Library System, we also offer art, tools, a makerspace, and a wealth of online resources. 

No matter where you find yourself on the roadmap through life’s journey—preparing for a new career, launching a business, raising a family, or settling into retirement—we have the resources and support you need and an inclusive and supportive community where you will feel welcome. 

That includes making sure our collection has something for everyone. We have seen a national movement to censor library materials according to the standards of only a section of a community, and penalize or even criminalize the work of library staff. While the overwhelming majority of the public oppose censorship, organizations are working across the country and in Maryland to censor and ban books. That is why we are thrilled that the Freedom to Read Act passed the Maryland General Assembly and is now on its way to Governor Moore for his signature. This legislation reaffirms the constitutional principle that library materials, services, and resources exist and should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all persons.  

Maryland’s libraries have long been recognized as national leaders in developing successful, high-quality services and collections. The Freedom to Read Act provides a framework for how a library should serve, protects the unique quality of each library and its staff, and recognizes the professionalism of library staff. We thank our Howard County delegation for their support of this critical piece of legislation. 

So, no matter who you are, what you want to read, or what you want to do, get ready to explore, become inspired, and connect with others this National Library Week. We are there for you and with you, all the way to the finish line. 

View of a line of stacks at the library, with books displayed atop.

National Book Month

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Light blue banner with pink and yellow dots that reads National Book Month, with a row of books.

by Julie F.
As the leaves turn color, autumn breezes swirl, and school starts once again, readers everywhere can look forward to activities and festivities for National Book Month in October. A celebration that focuses on the importance of reading, writing, and literature, National Book Month was established in 2003 by the National Book Foundation (NBF). Their mission honors the best literature published in the United States, expanding its audience and ensuring that books have a prominent place in our culture.

The National Book Foundation is guided by the following core beliefs:

  • Books are essential to a thriving cultural landscape.
  • Books and literature provide a depth of engagement that helps to protect, stimulate, and promote discourse.
  • Books and literature are for everyone, everywhere.

The NBF vision is for books and literature to remain at the center of our vibrant national conversation. Their awards and additional programs encourage existing readers and build new and diverse audiences for books and literature.

Each National Book Month, NBF honors the best authors and books through the annual National Book Awards, with finalists announced each October. The awards, first presented in 1950, honor the best Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature published each year. Judges are recruited and selected by the NBF and include 25 distinguished writers, translators, critics, librarians, and booksellers, a panel of five for each category. The NBF also presents a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, awarded to a writer whose lifetime service and body of work has enriched American literary heritage. There is also a Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, presented to an individual for increasing access to and expanding the audience for books and reading.

You can browse National Book Award winners and nominees at www.nationalbook.org/national-book-awards/years. The website also includes video clips of the award winners’ acceptance speeches at the annual November ceremonies. Many of these authors, from Flannery O’Connor and Ralph Ellison to Louise Erdrich and Jesmyn Ward and many more, have written books that stand the test of time and are found in our catalog and libraries and bookstores worldwide. To continue the celebration, stop by any branch and ask your librarian for their favorite recommendations from the National Book Awards lists!

Julie is an instructor and research specialist at HCLS Miller Branch who finds her work as co-editor of Chapter Chats very rewarding. She loves gardening, birds, crime fiction, all kinds of music, and the great outdoors. Julie facilitates the Bas Bleu and Spies, Lies, and Alibis book discussion groups at Miller.

Image looks like a corner of two book cases. Shelves are lines with book books, an old fashioned camera, and a door. A bare lightbulb illuminated the title, which bends into the corner.

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Kristen B. 2 Comments
Image looks like a corner of two book cases. Shelves are lines with book books, an old fashioned camera, and a door. A bare lightbulb illuminated the title, which bends into the corner.

by Kristen B.

Maps fascinate me. I can lose time tracing routes and looking at where places are in relation to other places. Sometimes, it’s part of planning a vacation or maybe thinking through historical events. Other times, it’s just daydreaming. The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd hit me right in all of my map-loving feels. At heart, this novel is written directly for anyone who has ever pored over a map with a little wonder and wanderlust.

The book begins as Nell Young receives distressing news that her estranged father was found dead in his office at the New York Public Library’s maps division, in the main building on Fifth Avenue. The fast-moving plot intertwines current-day murders with Nell’s parents’ halcyon college days spent at the University of Wisconsin’s renowned cartography program, living the dream with a group of incredibly close friends. When Nell arrives at the library where she spent her childhood and always planned on working, she checks the secret compartment in her father’s desk. She finds an old gas station map of the state of New York, the very object that caused their years-long rift.

The combined mysteries of the cheap, old map and her father’s death propel Nell into a running, breathless search to figure out what happened to her dad, and, in turn, to her mom. As Nell researches the surprisingly valuable 1950s road map, her life becomes complicated by an old boyfriend, old family friends, and the need to stop anyone else from dying. In a related entanglement, the old boyfriend works for a cutting-edge tech company looking to create the “perfect map.”

About the time the gas station map was manufactured, various small cartography companies began adding copyright traps to their intellectual property to stop bigger corporations from stealing their work. It’s a fascinating bit of trivia that becomes pivotal to all the knotty problems, but I don’t want to spoil the fun of discovery. I’m not sure the author fully delivers on the set-up, but it’s a great premise. In the end, though, Shepherd wraps it all up and puts a bow on this story.

I really enjoyed how this book mapped the plot from past to present, where certain roads ran true and others were always traps for the unwary. On one level, it’s a cautionary tale about obsession and secrecy. As always, the solution is trust and transparency. Nell knows it, and she is strong enough to solve her own life.

Available as a print book , e-book, and an e-audiobook.

Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball in season (but not all at the same time).

A woman dressed in a bright yellow dress walks while reading through a grand lobby with well-lit doors and windows behind her.

Home is Where the Library Is: The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

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A woman dressed in a bright yellow dress walks while reading through a grand lobby with well-lit doors and windows behind her.

by Cherise T.

I have a favorite photo of my kids where my son is wearing his baseball cap backwards and my daughter is wearing a poncho as a skirt. Today, my son’s visors often still point in reverse and my daughter never misses the opportunity to transform an article of clothing into something original and extraordinary. 

Where, you ask, was this photo taken? In front of the New York Public Library, the revered Fifth Avenue building guarded by two marble lions. A library with an eight-room apartment on the mezzanine.

Having never read a novel by the popular historical fiction author Fiona Davis, I was attracted to the plotline of The Lions of Fifth Avenue, not only because of my love for libraries but because I have entertained the fantasy of enjoying unlimited access to stacks and stacks of books. Deep, dark stacks with first editions and handwritten notes by famous authors. One of my favorite books in the HCLS collection is The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson’s Envelope Poems because I can sink into Dickinson’s creative process and believe, for phrases at a time, that I am sharing a word journey into an otherwise fathomless mind. 

Told through the dual lenses of 1993 and 1913-18, The Lions of Fifth Avenue reads both as historical fiction and mystery. The plot weaves the interconnected stories of a family with a deep multigenerational connection to the New York Public Library. In 1993, Sadie Donovan strives for an ever more significant leadership role as an NYPL librarian and curator. In 1913, Sadie’s grandmother, Laura Lyons, aspires to be a journalist in a society where women’s professional opportunities were limited. Whereas Sadie works at the NYPL, Laura actually lives there in the apartment reserved for the family of the superintendent of the NYPL, who happens to be Laura’s husband, Jack. Laura and Jack live in the apartment with their children, Henry and Pearl. Both Sadie and Laura walk up the same steps and pass the same stone lions, and they face parallel hurdles in their careers and their romantic relationships. They share devotion to family and an insatiable attraction to investigation and knowledge. And Sadie and Laura contend with the theft of treasured library materials, setting them up as witnesses and suspects. 

Although the protagonists of the novel are fictional, the framework has historical roots. At one time, NYPL superintendents resided in the library, and the first superintendent who lived in the Fifth Avenue building raised children there. True as well is the unfortunate fact that rare books have been stolen from the library over the years. Fascinated by NY’s architectural landmarks, Davis writes novels revolving around different city buildings including the Barbizon Hotel, Dakota apartments, Chelsea Holtel, and Grand Central Terminal. Her writing has a real feel for New York City, and the plot twists in The Lions of Fifth Avenue make it a page turner. Climb the stairs between the lions, settle in to live in a library for a bit, and see if you can solve a few mysteries. 

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks. 

The book cover depicts someone tearing through the pages of a book as if through a curtain, with a dark abyss behind and a bare arm reaching from inside the book.

The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

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The book cover depicts someone tearing through the pages of a book as if through a curtain, with a dark abyss behind and a bare arm reaching from inside the book.

By Eliana H.

“Hell is a series of hallways.” I think I can believe that. In The Library of the Unwritten, author A.J. Hackwith imagines not only Hell, but a variety of realms of the afterlife, down to the bureaucracy that governs them.

Claire Hadley has been Hell’s Librarian for a few decades now. She runs the Unwritten Wing, home to all of the stories that authors never actually wrote. Brevity, Claire’s assistant, is a former muse, and the two are joined by a demon, Leto, as they set off to retrieve a character who has escaped from his book and made his way to earth to seek his author. As they are ready to return to the Library, an angel shows up, expecting them to have a completely different book – the Devil’s Bible. 

Before they know it, Claire, Brevity, Leto, and Hero find themselves on an adventure to try to avert war between Heaven and Hell. They know such a battle would spell disaster for the humans who would be caught in the middle. In the end, all of the library’s resources will be needed to defend against those who would harm it. 

Hackwith does a beautiful job describing the worlds they travel through as we learn more about the intriguing cast of characters, none of whom are quite what they seem. She also demonstrates the politics of the different domains. 

This book was refreshing in the way it tied different beliefs and mythologies into an original premise with unique characters. I was captivated throughout. The journal entry or two from librarians through the ages beginning each chapter, which hinted at some of the challenges they faced in previous eras, were a helpful touch. This is the first book in a new series, so I look forward to learning more about the past – both Claire’s and the library’s – as well as further adventures to come.

The Library of the Unwritten is available from HCLS in print and also as an eaudiobook through OverDrive/Libby.

Eliana is a Children’s Instructor and Research Specialist at HCLS Elkridge Branch. She loves reading, even if she’s slow at it, and especially enjoys helping people find books that make them light up. She also loves being outside and spending time with friends and family (when it’s safe).