{"id":81260,"date":"2026-09-22T00:17:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T04:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=81260"},"modified":"2026-09-22T00:17:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T04:17:21","slug":"the-library-under-siege-how-the-trump-administration-is-turning-bookshelves-into-a-cultural-battleground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/the-library-under-siege-how-the-trump-administration-is-turning-bookshelves-into-a-cultural-battleground\/","title":{"rendered":"The Library Under Siege: How the Trump Administration Is Turning Bookshelves into a Cultural Battleground"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong><span dir=\"auto\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/librarian-escorts-students.jpg\" width=\"680\" height=\"383\" \/><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span dir=\"auto\">In the United States, libraries are caught between threats to their funding and a growing offensive against books deemed &#8220;inappropriate&#8221; by various fundamentalist groups.<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span dir=\"auto\">Behind the book removals, pressure is intensifying against librarians themselves, who are sometimes victims of harassment and intimidation.<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span dir=\"auto\">The &#8220;book war&#8221; has become a national political battle: the demands of religious groups and public officials are supplanting individual protests, while censorship, previously concentrated on school libraries, is also gaining ground in public libraries.<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">In the United States, the situation of libraries is deteriorating. Numerous threats weigh on their autonomy and their funding. A few months after the arrival of the Trump 2 administration, we <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/etats-unis-les-bibliotheques-dans-la-tourmente-256389\"><span dir=\"auto\">reported<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> on the plan to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/31\/arts\/design\/library-agency-trump-museums.html\"><span dir=\"auto\">dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> , an agency that participates in the funding of many programs offered by the countless places that make up the very rich network of American school libraries <\/span><em><span dir=\"auto\">and<\/span><\/em><span dir=\"auto\"> public <\/span><em><span dir=\"auto\">libraries<\/span><\/em><span dir=\"auto\"> for an annual amount approaching 300 million dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Thanks to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aam-us.org\/2025\/03\/17\/urgent-act-now-to-save-imls\/\"><span dir=\"auto\">mobilization<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> of elected officials, associations, and citizens, the outright dissolution of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imls.gov\/\"><span dir=\"auto\">the IMLS<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> is no longer on the table. But while the agency itself is no longer threatened and its staff have been reinstated, the administration has renewed its attempts to drastically reduce its operating budget through the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/fy-2027-international-affairs-budget\/\"><span dir=\"auto\">FY2027 budget bill<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> submitted to Congress for approval.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imls.gov\/publications\/2026-congressional-budget-justification\"><span dir=\"auto\">continuity resolution<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> (CR) was passed to maintain funding at the previous year&#8217;s level until December 11th. After that date, the future remains uncertain.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span dir=\"auto\">Fundamentalism attacks libraries<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Through its decisions and positions, the Trump administration implicitly legitimizes the increasingly uninhibited arrogance of fundamentalist pressure groups that attack libraries by targeting the collections offered, certain works in particular, but also the cultural programming offered there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Thus, in the summer of 2026, Republican representatives introduced a bill against which the American Library Association (ALA) <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/action.ala.org\/campaign\/S4925\/\"><span dir=\"auto\">is mobilizing<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> . Called <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/senate-bill\/4925\"><span dir=\"auto\">the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> , the bill is introduced as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><span dir=\"auto\">&#8220;Amend the Primary and Secondary Education Act 1965 to prohibit the use of funds allocated under that Act for the development, implementation, facilitation, organization, or promotion of any program or activity aimed at children under the age of 18, or for the provision or promotion of works or other materials containing sexually explicit content, and for other purposes.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">This text is specifically aimed at school libraries, which are veritable institutions in the United States. Systematically present and far better stocked than in most primary schools in France, they are usually managed by university-trained professionals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Amanda_Jones_(librarian)\"><span dir=\"auto\">Amanda Jones<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> is an example whose portrait was drawn in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/educ.arte.tv\/program\/usa-la-guerre-des-livres\"><span dir=\"auto\">documentary <\/span><\/a> <em><span dir=\"auto\">USA: The Book Wars<\/span><\/em><span dir=\"auto\"> , by Ilan Ziv, broadcast on Arte in 2024, and then more recently in another documentary, by Kim Snyder, released in 2025 in the United States, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thelibrariansfilm.com\/\"><em><span dir=\"auto\">The Librarians<\/span><\/em><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> .<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.slj.com\/story\/get-up-stand-up-taking-the-fight-to-abusers-amanda-jones-wields-power-she-is-not-alone-censorship\"><span dir=\"auto\">Accused<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> of promoting pornographic content to children who frequented the Livingston, Louisiana, parish library she managed (because she had not removed LGBTQIA+ themed books from the shelves), she firmly denied these accusations at a school board meeting. She then faced months of threats, harassment, and intimidation, even in her own backyard. This <\/span><em><span dir=\"auto\">modus operandi<\/span><\/em><span dir=\"auto\"> is reminiscent of the practices of some extremist activists in <\/span><em><span dir=\"auto\">the pro-life,<\/span><\/em><span dir=\"auto\"> anti-abortion movement who relentlessly pursue their victims, doctors or patients, even in their homes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Since then, Amanda Jones has become a symbol for these professionals (often women) who refuse to give in to intimidation of rare violence. These attacks, triggered simply by their desire to guarantee a diverse range of collections, sometimes even go so far as to question their personal morality. Amanda Jones explained in an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hbook.com\/story\/we-need-diverse-books-a-decade-in-action\"><span dir=\"auto\">interview<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> published in 2023, even before Donald Trump&#8217;s return to the White House:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span dir=\"auto\">\u201c<em>In my state of Louisiana, there is currently a wave of censorship targeting books written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community, under the pretext of \u2018protecting children from pornography.\u2019 The censors will claim that this isn\u2019t the case, but the lists of books they deem objectionable prove otherwise, and this phenomenon is being observed all over the United States. They use fear tactics, harmful rhetoric, and social media to create hysteria around books. Once they have everyone riled up, they start talking about defunding libraries.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><center><iframe width=\"864\" height=\"486\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oGGZvK6kL1o\" title=\"Texas Library Association talks &#39;culture war&#39;, plans to address school book bans\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<h4><span dir=\"auto\">Expansion of the scope of censorship<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">In many states, lobbying groups\u2014including the powerful , Republican-leaning <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Moms-for-Liberty\"><span dir=\"auto\">Moms for Liberty<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> , which relentlessly works to control the books available to young people\u2014are becoming increasingly aggressive. While school libraries have long been their preferred hunting ground, under the guise of protecting youth, the ALA has reported that, by 2025, 51% of book censorship attempts had taken place in public (non-school) libraries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">The recent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pen.org\/report\/out-of-circulation\/\"><span dir=\"auto\">report<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> by the association for the defense of freedom of expression and writers, Pen America, with the explicit title \u201cOut of Circulation\u201d: Expanding Censorship in Public Libraries, takes stock of this progressive <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2025\/apr\/08\/majority-of-attempts-to-ban-books-in-us-come-from-organised-groups-not-parents\"><span dir=\"auto\">generalization<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> of intimidation and demands for the removal of books or cultural activities from all libraries, including those intended for the general public.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">He distinguishes three forms of censorship: the old one, which targets books; administrative or political censorship, which weighs on the budgets and governance of these institutions; and finally, a third, which directly, or even physically, threatens the professionals in charge of these libraries.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span dir=\"auto\">The battle becomes political<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">The number of censored books has been breaking records in recent years. It has gone from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/actualitte.com\/article\/114825\/international\/etats-unis-3362-cas-d-interdiction-d-ouvrages-entre-2022-et-2023\"><span dir=\"auto\">3,362<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> \u00a0censored books in 2023 \u2013 these are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ala.org\/bbooks\/frequentlychallengedbooks\/top10\"><span dir=\"auto\">books<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> that are asked to be removed from library shelves because of their allegedly inappropriate content for children; they include both A <\/span><em><span dir=\"auto\">Clockwork Orange<\/span><\/em><span dir=\"auto\"> , by Anthony Burgess, and the children&#8217;s book <\/span><em><span dir=\"auto\">Gender Queer<\/span><\/em><span dir=\"auto\"> , by Maia Kobabe \u2013 to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pen.org\/report\/the-normalization-of-book-banning\/\"><span dir=\"auto\">6,870<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">To inform the general public and mobilize as many people as possible, professionals have established a week dedicated to these issues across the country. This is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bannedbooksweek.org\/\"><span dir=\"auto\">Banned Book Week<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> , which brings together all professionals at the beginning of October.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Another striking development documented in the ALA (State of America&#8217;s Libraries, 2026) <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/americanlibrariesmagazine.org\/blogs\/the-scoop\/ala-releases-state-of-americas-libraries-2026-report\/\"><span dir=\"auto\">report<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> is the changing status of those demanding censorship. By 2025, almost all (92%) of the recorded censorship attempts were initiated by lobby groups, government officials, and policymakers, whereas in the past, they were primarily individual initiatives by parents. This shift underscores a polarization of the debate at a now national and institutional level: challenging books is no longer a one-off parental initiative but a tool for political mobilization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Actions are also diversifying, as highlighted in the Pen America report: these include the removal of themed displays (around events like Pride Month or Black History Month), the cancellation of events and story times (notably Drag Story Hour, which has been targeted by bomb threats in several cities), the reclassification of children&#8217;s books to adult shelves, and the unauthorized placement of warning stickers directly on books.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">As a British official said during the serious <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/books.openedition.org\/pressesenssib\/11527\"><span dir=\"auto\">crisis<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> that the public library network in the United Kingdom went through from the 2010s onwards, under the Conservative government of David Cameron:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><span dir=\"auto\">&#8220;Libraries are like a canary in a coal mine, a true detector of what is happening more broadly in local communities.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">It is in this increasingly threatening context, which now extends far beyond school libraries, that the resistance of American librarians has just been recognized with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyswritersinstitute.org\/post\/the-librarians-documentary-wins-an-emmy\"><span dir=\"auto\">an Emmy Award for the documentary <\/span><em><span dir=\"auto\">*The Librarians<\/span><\/em><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> *. These issues of free access to all content, whatever its nature, will certainly be at the heart of local debates as the midterm elections approach, as illustrated by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/08\/19\/texas-dan-patrick-obscene-books-school-libraries-penalties\/\"><span dir=\"auto\">proposal<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> of the Texas lieutenant governor, running for reelection, to penalize schools that do not remove certain books from their libraries. But we can be sure that, here again, the powerful library community will rise up to raise the alarm and mobilize against censorship!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Author Bio:<\/strong><strong> C\u00e9cile Touitou is Head of the Foresight Mission at the Library \/ DBA at Sciences Po<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the United States, libraries are caught between threats to their funding and a growing offensive against books deemed &#8220;inappropriate&#8221; by various fundamentalist groups. Behind the book removals, pressure is intensifying against librarians themselves, who are sometimes victims of harassment and intimidation. The &#8220;book war&#8221; has become a national political battle: the demands of religious [&hellip;]\n&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/the-library-under-siege-how-the-trump-administration-is-turning-bookshelves-into-a-cultural-battleground\/\" class=\"more\">learn more&rarr;<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[434929],"tags":[435770],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-81260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-libraries","tag-book-war"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Library Under Siege: How the Trump Administration Is Turning Bookshelves into a Cultural Battleground - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/the-library-under-siege-how-the-trump-administration-is-turning-bookshelves-into-a-cultural-battleground\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Library Under Siege: How the Trump Administration Is Turning Bookshelves into a Cultural Battleground - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the United States, libraries are caught between threats to their funding and a growing offensive against books deemed &#8220;inappropriate&#8221; by various fundamentalist groups. 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