Librarians are facing growing calls for LGBT+ books to be removed from shelves, industry leaders have warned, as the influence of US pressure groups is felt in the UK.
Some library workers who fight back against censorship are being trolled online or even losing their jobs, according to members of the sector.
LGBT+ charity Stonewall has raised concerns after new research seen by The Independent revealed the vast majority of book removal requests in UK school libraries have been focused on LGBT+ content.
Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series about two schoolboys’ romantic relationship and Billy’s Bravery by Tom Percival about a boy who wants to dress up as superhero Nature Girl were among the titles reported to have faced calls for removal.
After interviewing 10 UK school librarians about book censorship, Alison Hicks, an associate professor in library and information studies at UCL, said: “Almost all the UK attacks reported in my study centred on LGBTQ+ materials, while US attacks appear to target material related to race, ethnicity and social justice as well as LGBTQ+ issues.”
Her study, to be published in the School Library Association (SLA)’s journal The School Librarian, suggested that US action groups are increasingly targeting UK libraries, although the study was small and the level of influence is currently still not clear.
Respondents revealed instances of “finding propaganda from one of these groups left on her desk”, being “directly targeted by one of these groups”, and “being trolled by US pressure groups on social media, for example, when responding to free book giveaways”.
Meanwhile, respondents also reported UK pupils “vandalising library material, annotating library books with racist and homophobic slurs”, as well as damaging posters and displays, in behaviour that Ms Hicks said she had not seen in the US, illustrating how the situations between the two countries do differ.
Louis Coiffait-Gunn, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (Cilip), said that although “the situation here is nowhere as bad, censorship does happen and there are some deeply worrying examples of library professionals losing their jobs and being trolled online for standing up for intellectual freedom on behalf of their users”.
President of Libraries Connected Ed Jewell said anecdotal evidence from his charity, which represents public libraries, showed book removal requests are on the rise. Victoria Dilly, CEO of the SLA, also said her organisation has seen an increase in member queries about censorship this year.
The majority of challenges in the UK are still launched by individuals or small groups, whereas in the US, pressure groups and government-related entities led censorship demands in 72 per cent of cases, according to data released by the American Library Association last week.
The US has an organised system of book challenging that involves bans and burnings and is spearheaded by right-wing groups. But Mr Jewell warned it is “certainly possible that the scale of censorship we’re seeing in the US will influence the debate over here”.
Last year, librarians revealed that LGBT+ books were being banned from UK schools after complaints from parents.
A six-month investigation by Index on Censorship, the results of which were shared exclusively with The Independent, found that 53 per cent of UK school librarians polled had been asked to remove literature and in more than half of those cases books were taken off shelves.
The snapshot survey found that more than two dozen librarians had experienced such censorship, with one saying they had been told to remove every book with an LGBT+ theme after a single complaint from one parent about one book.
In the wake of the latest research demonstrating the continuation of this trend, Stonewall said: “It is troubling to see reports that LGBT+ books are being removed from libraries as we know that many students find great importance and reassurance in seeing themselves reflected in books and media.
“It’s vital that schools ensure that all young people have access to inclusive educational materials and books that represent the world we live in and the communities everyone is a part of.”
Ms Hicks said attacks on books in the UK are having a “huge impact”, despite differences from the situation in the US, where book banning measures have been implemented in multiple states over recent years. “My research demonstrates that UK school librarians are facing equivalent levels of distress and hostility in the face of book ban challenges such as these.”
Mr Coiffait-Gunn warned: “Perhaps more concerning is the lack of robust evidence about how widespread the issue is here; it’s hard to evidence what doesn’t happen and which books are not available, illustrating the ‘chilling effect’ of censorship.”
