We are organizations representing parents, educators and librarians, students and readers, authors and publishers, community and advocacy organizations, businesses and workers, nonprofits and faith groups, elected officials and civic leaders, and concerned citizens who are united against book bans.

While we come from different walks of life, we all believe in the following principles:

1. Reading is a foundational skill, critical to future learning and to exercising our democratic freedoms.
2. Books are tools for understanding complex issues. Limiting young people's access to books does not protect them from life's complex and challenging issues.
3. Individuals should be trusted to make their own decisions about what to read.
4. Parents should not be making decisions for other parents' children.
5. Young people deserve to see themselves reflected in a library's books.

A large majority of Americans agree with these principles and are opposed to book bans. However, efforts to ban books, especially in schools and libraries, are occurring in unprecedented numbers across the country. The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 attempts to ban or restrict books and services in libraries, schools and universities in 2021, resulting in the removal or restriction of more than 1,597 individual book titles. By comparison, the ALA tracked 377 challenges targeting 566 books in 2019.

What is also shocking is the rise in state and local legislation which will make censorship easier, or even allow the criminal prosecution of librarians or teachers for simply doing their jobs - ensuring the public has access to a variety of ideas and perspectives. We fear that the centers of knowledge for families and communities are in jeopardy. That's why we, the undersigned organizations, call on anyone in a position of power to protect the rights of everyone to access a variety of books, in libraries and elsewhere.

We call on all policymakers to Unite Against Book Bans.