Comparing Florida & Maine
This page is intended to highlight book banning trends specifically in Florida and in Maine. These are two states that have made their data on book ban attempts publicly available, and it’s interesting to see what trends two states may or may not share. The data’s accuracy is subject to the Florida Department of Education and The Maine Monitor. The visualizations on this page merely consolidate the published data and then allow for audiences to interact with it all in one place.
In the visualizations on this page, compare books, reasons for why the books have been challenged, and who is behind the challenges to see if you notice any patterns or things that stand out in each state.
Each of these maps reflects 2022-23 book banning attempts in the two states. The markers indicate the count of book ban attempts in each school district. The darker the color, the higher the volume. Zoom in/out and hover over each marker to learn details on the labeled school district. What stands out to you about the overall numbers you see reflected here? Does anything about the maps surprise you?
Maine
The below interactive table contains the comprehensive list of titles that were challenged or ultimately removed in Florida and Maine schools in the 2022-23 academic year. Type a school district, book title, or author into the search bar to explore.
Examples:
Type ‘Maas’ to see all removed titles by author Sarah J. Maas.
Type ‘Broward’ to see all removed titles in that Florida school district.
Type ‘Maine’ to see the full list of challenged titles in the state.
The “Status” column tells you if the book was ultimately removed from the school district or if it was challenged. Neither source provides information on whether or not each challenge decision is still pending or closed.
The “Challenger” column includes where the challenge came from, including who the complainant was.
Hover over each of the sections to learn who is behind book challenges in Florida and Maine. Do you notice anything different about who’s behind the majority of book ban attempts in each of the two states?
Florida
Now explore the reasons for why books were challenged in each of the states. What similarities or differences do you see between the two states? Does anything about the total counts surprise you?
The final two tables here show the comparison in total number of book objections compared to removals across school districts in Florida and Maine.
Objections = the number of books brought forward for attempted removal.
Removals = the number of books removed from all public school libraries in the listed district after their initial objection.