Marshall University does not ban books! The information is provided to let people know what has been banned/challenged elsewhere.
2025
On August 12, 2024, the board of the Elizabeth School District (CO) announced they were removing 19 titles from school libraries “for review” and requiring parental permission for 110 others. The board cited concerns over the religious views expressed; LGBTQIA+ content; and depictions of drug use, sex, and violence in the books. Nineteen Minutes was one of the titles removed. Titles requiring parental permission included 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. On March 19, 2025, a federal judge ordered the district to restore access to all 129 titles and prohibited further censorship of library books “because the district disagrees with the views expressed therein or merely to further their preferred political or religious orthodoxy.”
2018
Challenged and removed from required reading at the Lake Travis (TX) Middle School because parents felt this classic book was not “age appropriate.” An alternative book was permitted.
Banned but eventually retained. A parent of a student at the Rigby High School in Jefferson County (ID) School District complained about a passage in 1984, calling it violent and sexually explicit. The book was assigned reading in two senior level government classes. Early reports claimed that administrators had directed the book to be banned, and district reconsideration policies had not been followed. After strong student protests against the banning, including an online petition with 500 signatures, officials announced that the book would be retained. An alternative book was offered to meet the concerns of those parents with objections.
On These Pages
A Banned book has been removed from a library, classroom, etc.
A Challenged book has been requested to be removed from a library, classroom, etc.
For additional information contact
Ron Titus, titus@marshall.edu
304-696-6575
Last updated
August 5, 2025