LGBTQ+ book ban attempts are increasing in UK schools, study finds
School librarians in the UK have opened up about the increased censorship regarding LGBTQIA+ books. Over the last couple of years, queer literature in the UK has been targeted by conservative individuals.
In April 2023, a study from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (Cilip) revealed that a third of librarians were asked to censor or remove LGBTQIA+ content by members of the public, with some even being threatened. “We want to get past this period of culture war and politics and really focus on the job in hand,” Nick Poole, Cilip’s chief executive explained to The Guardian. “It continues to be true that it just takes a spark in a children’s book to inspire a young person to go on and do something brilliant.
That’s what we want to focus on doing.” Unfortunately, the situation in the UK school library system has reportedly worsened.
According to The Independent, new data from the Index on Censorship found that 53% of surveyed school librarians were asked to remove LGBTQIA+ books, while 56% of librarians were forced to follow through with such requests.
