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.

The report also revealed some of the key books that have been targeted, including Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love, ABC Pride by Louie Stowell, Elly Barnes and Amy Phelps, and This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson.

Since the eye-opening data was released, an array of LGBTQIA+ activists and organisations have pushed back against the alarming rise of censorship.

Photo: Unsplash

In a statement to The Independent, Just Like Us CEO Laura Mackay said: “This small-scale study shows some worrying cases of fears around LGBT+ books in school libraries, but removing books will never change the fact that LGBT+ people, including same-sex parents, are part of society.

“The recent rise in far-right attitudes and dears stoked around trans young people make life so much harder for LGBT+ young people, particularly those of colour… it’s vital that young people can access books that reflect the diversity of the world around them.”

Local librarian Alice Leggatt echoed similar sentiments to the aforementioned news outlet, adding that librarians “don’t really have anything” to defend them from the ongoing requests. 

“Pretty much every librarian I’ve spoken with says this is more of an issue than it was five years ago, and they’re concerned about in a way they never had to think about it before,” she explained.

“But we don’t really have anything with teeth to help defend school librarians, their collections and their students when these things happen.”

The UK isn’t the only country that’s seen an increase in book censorship and bans.  

In the US, multiple states have attempted to block the availability of queer and racial-themed books in public and school libraries.

According to a report from The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, over 4,000 books have been targeted, in addition to “1,247 demands to censor library books, materials and resources in 2023.”