If you’ve been to Brandon Free Public Library (BFPL) this October, you might have noticed the Banned Books display near the entrance. Set neatly on top of a shelf are classics like Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” and Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy — books that are often challenged at libraries nationwide for including racial slurs, sexual content and violence, and an “anti-Christian” message, respectively.
The display is a tradition spanning at least twenty years, said director Molly Kennedy. This year, staff decided to leave the display up for a month rather than the usual week, to draw more attention to the issue. They even designed a T-shirt, their informal “uniform for the month.” (Patrons can also buy one to support programming.)
Nationwide, book banning is booming. Last year, the American Library Association documented attempts to remove 4,235 different books from schools and libraries across the country, up twenty-fold from 2016. Most challenges came from leaders and organized groups, with only 4% from individual parents or patrons, the group says.
Another group that tracks book banning, PEN America, recorded more school districts banning books (114) and more books being banned (7,370 unique titles) in the 2025-2026 school year than in any year since it started keeping track in 2021. Some states have enacted laws restricting what books school libraries can have in their collections.
Vermont is moving in the opposite direction. In 2024, the state passed Act 150, a law that in effect shields school libraries from a wide range of book removal requests. In January, 2026, following several months of debate, Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union (RNESU) adopted a policy based on that law.
Local librarians say these formal protections build on a long tradition of safeguarding intellectual freedom in the state.
“In schools in Vermont, we’re not going to ban books because people disapprove or are uncomfortable with them,” said Hannah Fjeld, the librarian at Neshobe Elementary School since 2014. “We’re going to have collections that are supporting all of our readers.”
She said Vermont has some of the strongest protections for librarians and library users of any U.S. state.
Kennedy said libraries should be places where readers are free to explore ideas.
“Our role as librarians is not to tell people what to think, but to help them discover information, evaluate ideas and make informed decisions for themselves,” she said in an emailed statement. “When we protect the freedom to read, we protect the freedom to learn, question, and understand the world around us.”
One reason Kennedy highlights banned books every year is to show just how many of patrons’ favorite books have been restricted. She recalled a child coming into the library with an adult, noticing the display, and calling him over with an excited “Look! Here are all of your books.”
“It was really something to see his face light up because he saw himself reflected in the library,” she said.
A clear process for selecting and removing books
Both Fjeld and Stephanie Hull, the librarian at Otter Valley Union Middle and High School, said that during their years as school librarians, no one has ever formally requested the removal of a book from their library.
If that did happen, however, they’d be ready.
“We are proactively prepared for it,” Hull said. “We have a very clear material selection policy within the district. And we also have a very clear outline of how things work if a book is challenged.”
Challenges are reviewed by administrators and ultimately may rise to the school board, she said, adding that while librarians provide information during the process, they do not make the final decision.
When choosing books, school librarians are required to consider students’ educational needs as well as what is appropriate for their cognitive and emotional levels. They often rely on recommendations from publications like School Library Journal for the hundreds of books they buy each year.
In Hull’s case, that means choosing books for seventh graders through adults, since OVUU’s library serves the staff as well as the students. As a result, families may feel some of the books are not appropriate for their children.
“That's a vast age group, and it's not my job to say what is and what's not appropriate for someone else's child to read,” Hull said. “I firmly believe in the intellectual freedom of children. If they want to read it, they should read it. That's how people learn. That's how we grow. It's how we gain empathy. But I do have books that some parents might look at and say, I don't want my seventh grader reading that.”
In those situations, she says, she encourages parents to talk with their children at home about their concerns (though she warns that attempts to control what teens read can backfire, spurring even more interest in the forbidden books).
Fjeld said she takes a similar approach.
“Parents have the right to decide what their kids access and read,” she said. “I really stress that it’s an individual decision and something that needs to be happening within a family … It shouldn’t affect other kids, right?”
Both Fjeld and Hull said they would never restrict what a student checks out from the library.
At BFPL, Kennedy said that in the 20-plus years she’s been there, she has never received a formal challenge to a book in the collection.
“We do find books on occasion that have been hidden,” she said. Often, the library purchases another copy, resulting in two copies of the “offending” book circulating rather than one.
If someone did want to challenge a book at BFPL, they would need to fill out a form asking their reasons, among other questions. The library board would then meet to discuss the challenge, and Kennedy would make a suggestion on whether the book should stay or go, she said.
Debate over new protections for school libraries
Last August, the RNESU board began discussing a policy to formalize how school librarians select books, and to strictly limit the acceptable reasons for removing a book from a school library. Act 150 required all school boards to adopt such policies based closely on the act’s wording.
RNESU used a model policy from the Vermont School Boards Association. It begins by stating that “The freedom to read is essential to our democracy,” and goes on to prohibit book removal for a lengthy list of reasons. Among them are partisan approval or disapproval; the public’s discomfort, political views, or religious views; the race or gender identity of the author or characters; and content related to sexual health.
During the RNESU board’s discussion on Oct. 1, 2025, board member Kevin Thornton expressed concern about the inclusion on that list of “the public’s discomfort, personal morality, and political or religious views.”
I think we have to take those into account,” he said. “I think it's terrible public policy to preemptively shut down debate on these things, and we're gonna get burned. And not to be overly dramatic about it, but I think it's un-American, too. You have to listen to people, and you have to listen respectfully.”
Protecting the Freedom to Read at Maclure Library
For Elizabeth Soulia, director of Pittsford’s Maclure Library, protecting patrons’ intellectual freedom feels personal.
“I was raised with the freedom to read any book that caught my eye, and I am very passionate about providing the same access to all here at Maclure Library,” she said in an email to the Current. “I remember very fondly hearing many passionate conversations surrounding intellectual freedom by patrons and staff as a young volunteer here at Maclure.”
She said Maclure features a banned book display several times a year and has a clear policy, rooted in the First Amendment, for handling challenges to books in its collection — although to her knowledge there’s never been a need to use it.
“Libraries have a responsibility to protect [the] freedom [to explore ideas] by providing access to a diverse range of books, ideas, and information without censorship or judgment,” she said. “I am honored to carry that responsibility forward and uphold the same principles of intellectual freedom that helped shape my own love of libraries.”
Board member Greg Smith said he supported the points Thornton had raised.
On Nov. 19, the board discussed the policy again. Fjeld made a public comment in favor of the policy, saying, “It’s a wonderful thing, it’s a great support to have.”
Thornton reiterated his concerns. “Selection is a black box,” he said. “I still think the community has a say. I don’t think we can run away from these debates.”
A vote to approve the policy that day did not pass. On Jan. 21, 2026, another vote took place, and this time it did pass. Barbara Ebling, Deborah Singiser, Laurie Bertrand, and Leo Pond voted in favor, Thornton voted against, and Smith abstained.
Hull, who researched book bans while in college and has been passionate about the subject ever since, said debates about what books are appropriate for kids to read should take place in families, not boardrooms.
“Books belong in libraries where people can access them,” she said. “It’s my job to make sure they’re here and accessible to anyone who wants to read them.”
Brandon Free Public Library Staff Recommend Their Favorite Banned Books
Molly: “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, banned for explicit sexual content, profanity, anti-Christian themes, and discussions on feminism and extremism; “In the Night Kitchen” by Maurice Sendak for child nudity
Dan: “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, banned for obscenity and controversial themes
Joni: “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, banned for substance abuse, adultery and sexual references
Carey: “The Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum, banned in 1928 in Chicago for “an ungodly influence on its readers” and “depicting women in leadership roles”
Eric: “Perks of Being a Wall Flower” by Stephen Chbosky, banned for sexually explicit content, LGBTQIA+ content, and profanity
Eva: “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, banned for profanity and sexually explicit content
Note: Carey Bunker is an assistant librarian at BFPL and an editor at the Neshobe Current.
