List of most commonly challenged books in the United States
In the United States many books have been challenged by a variety of groups and agencies in order to prevent a particular work from being read by the general public. In recent years it has become more common for those challenging the availability of a book to do so on a local level, targeting public libraries and school libraries. In fact, many communities have a formal process where a citizen can challenge the public availability of a work. This is a partial list of some of the most commonly challenged books in the United States since 1900. Note that challenging the availability of a book does not automatically denote that is has been removed from library shelves in even one community. The listing below compiles the most commonly challenged books in the United States. It does not list every book that has been challenged since 1900, only the most commonly challenged books. A source listing code of “ALA” denotes books reported by the American Library Association as the most commonly challenged. “Rad” indicates a book reported by Radcliffe Publishing Course as a commonly challenged book from its listing of the one hundred most important books of the 20th century. “ALA/Rad” indicates the book is on both lists.