An analysis of library censorship data since 2015 shows that there have been stark differences between the book-banning cultures in the US and Canada. However, recent data shows that a nascent wave of reactionary sentiment has spearhead an unprecedented rise in challenges to pro-LGBTQIA2S+ materials in both countries. In this session, library censorship data provided by the CFLA-FCAB and the ALA will be used to show how censorship trends in both countries converged in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic both broadly and more granularly through a demographic lens.
About Michael Nyby
Michael Nyby is the librarian at the W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind and chair of the CFLA-FCAB Intellectual Freedom Committee. His research interests include intellectual freedom, politics, and library accessibility. His research on censorship in Canadian libraries has appeared in Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research and Public Library Quarterly. Michael's reviews of accessible-format books frequently appear in Canadian Children's Book News. His non-research interests include long-distance bike touring and adapting Dungeons and Dragons materials for visually-impaired players.