As of 2024, Minnesota no longer bans books. However, some librarians say book bans are still technically happening.

Minnesota recently prohibited book banning in a 2024 statute, one of several Democratic-leaning states that have recently banned book bans. Some librarians are saying a combined rise in challenges related to interest groups and their fight against LGBTQ+ content as well as a lack of enforcement is leading to challenges against certain books across the state.

University of Minnesota English professor Lianna Farber said book banning is not a law that is enforced, and is a spectrum that gets confused quickly.

“A public library must not ban, remove, or otherwise restrict access to a book or other material based solely on its viewpoint or the messages, ideas, or opinions it conveys,” Farber said.

Books can also be “challenged,” meaning a person or group attempts to remove or restrict materials based upon personal objections, according to the American Library Association.

“Some people would say if a book is removed from the library shelves, that that’s a ban,” Farber said. “At the extreme end, some people say as long as there’s not an actual government action against people who can’t read a book, it’s not a ban.”

Rochester Public Schools ordered “The Rainbow Parade” by Emily Neilson to be removed from shelves earlier this year, overruling a school board meeting decision to keep the book on shelves, according to KTTC. 

Similarly, a Stillwater community member donated books to an elementary school’s library. Upon unpacking, staff members raised concerns about the books’ content and pulled them for review. Both books contain LGBTQ+ themes and are available to students with parents’ permission, according to Fox 9.

The most common causes for book banning typically include concerns about appropriate content for certain age groups, LGBTQIA themes, sexually explicit content, depiction of drug use and political or religious viewpoints, according to the American Library Association. 

Book banning is a form of censorship, according to the Free Speech Center. Typically, private individuals, government officials, school districts or organizations remove books from libraries, schools or bookstores because they object to their content, ideas or themes. 

Federal and state law

Book bans vary by state. Texas has the most book bans, followed by Florida, Missouri and Utah. 

The Supreme Court previously ruled in Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) that the government cannot restrict speech due to offenses against individual “‘social, political and moral tastes,’” meaning that school officials cannot remove books because of their content.

In Minnesota, the Minnesota statute, 134.51 Access to Library Materials and Rights Protected, protects teachers and librarians from being in trouble for having certain books. 

According to the statute, a governing body of a public library must adopt a policy that establishes procedures for selection of, challenges to, and reconsideration of library materials by a licensed specialist, an individual with a master’s degree in library science, a professional librarian or a person trained in library collection management, the statute reads.

In Minnesota, every public library needs a collection development policy and a book challenge policy and procedure, which they refer to when a book challenge occurs.  A collection development policy is a statement of guidelines for library staff members to follow when selecting, acquiring, and building library collections. 

“When people challenge books, then you have a policy to go back and say, this is why we collected this book,” Minnesota Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee Chair Ann Kaste said, “It’s representing members of our community.”

Quiet banning and self-censorship

Quiet banning refers to libraries not purchasing certain book titles that they believe may cause conflict and negative reactions from the community.

 Kaste said she believes in the freedom to read and the necessity of combating censorship in libraries. 

“A form of banning that we’re seeing this year is called quiet banning or self-censorship, where libraries just don’t buy the books that may cause problems,” Kaste said. “They may even remove books that they think may cause trouble.”

Authors may participate in self-censorship practices and modify what they want to write because they don’t want to have a controversy, according to Kaste. 

“The American Library Association collects the numbers of book bans per year, and it was way down,” Kaste said. “We are thinking that that is because of quiet censorship.” 

According to Kaste, there are special interest groups that convene to make a plan for how to ban books. They make a list of books they disagree with and send it to local groups around the country. 

Earlier this year, St. Francis Public Schools settled two book policy lawsuits where the district removed librarians and teachers from the book approval process and replaced them with a website called BookLooks.org.

BookLooks.org reads, “‘We are concerned parents who have been frustrated by the lack of resource material for content-based information regarding books accessible to children and young adults.’” 

BookLooks created a rating system meant to be used as a quick guide for parents who want to know more about a certain book’s content. 

“You can challenge the books if you don’t like them,” Kaste said. “But the school board can’t come in and make a new system for what goes in the library, because it’s a publicly funded institution.” 

The Minnesota American Civil Liberties Union and the Minnesota Educators Association sued St. Francis Public Schools and they ended up dropping their policy of using “Book Looks” to find books for their libraries. Book Looks bans classic books and curriculum-required books such as “Night” by Elie Wiesel, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, according to Kaste. 

Student Claire Pitrof took ENGL 1004 – Banned Books, a class offered by the University. 

Pitrof is against book bans and believes there are situations where books should have content disclaimers. She believes it is good for parents to be aware of what their kids are reading, so that they can have informed conversations about rough topics. “Everyone deserves to read and have access to all of the different opinions that are out there, and form their own opinions and build their own set of morals,” Pitrof said.