Nearly 12,000 books removed from US school shelves, some of them by software
What happened
On 5 October 2026, the free expression organisation PEN America published its yearly count of books removed from public school shelves in the United States. The release was timed for Banned Books Week. The figure was nearly 12,000 book bans during the 2025 to 2026 school year. That is the highest number PEN America has recorded in a single year. The other figures in the report are also records. More than 7,000 individual titles were banned. Those titles were written, illustrated or translated by more than 4,000 people. And 114 school districts banned books during the year, which PEN America says is the most it has ever counted for one year. Two things drove the rise, according to the organisation. The first is new state laws. Texas accounted for more than 8,100 of the bans, ahead of Florida with more than 3,200. PEN America attributes much of the Texas total to a state law, SB13, which bans broad categories of books from schools. The second is more unusual. The report says artificial intelligence was used to remove books in bulk, including popular manga series and other graphic novels. Rather than a human reading each title and making a judgement, software was used to flag large numbers at once. The most frequently banned title was Patricia McCormick's 2006 young adult novel 'Sold', about a teenager from Nepal who is sold into sexual slavery. Earlier reporting during the week also noted that Stephen King was among the most affected authors.
Why this matters
This is an American story. There is no equivalent system of district-level book banning in the UK, and British school libraries are not governed this way. So why follow it from here? Because of the AI part. The idea of using software to screen library catalogues at scale is not specific to any one country. It is a method, and methods travel. Once it exists, it will be offered to anyone who has a large catalogue and a policy to apply, including publishers, retailers and platforms. The question of who checks what the software decided is a general one. Because reading matters for health and development in ways that are well evidenced. Children who read for pleasure do better at school across every subject, not only English. Access to books that reflect difficult experiences, including abuse, grief and mental illness, is one of the ways young people find language for what is happening to them. Removing those books does not remove the experiences. And because UK school and public libraries are under pressure of a different kind. Not bans, but closures, reduced hours and shrinking book budgets. The outcome for a child who cannot get hold of a book is similar whichever cause produced it.
What the evidence actually says
Some care is needed with the numbers. PEN America is an advocacy organisation that campaigns against censorship. That does not make its data wrong, and its Index of School Book Bans is widely cited by journalists and researchers. But it is compiled by a campaigning body, not a statistics agency, and its definition of a "ban" is broad: it includes books removed pending review, as well as books permanently removed. Some of those books are later restored. The count also depends on what can be found out. Bans are recorded where PEN America learns about them, through news reports, public records and local sources. A rise in the count partly reflects a rise in bans and partly reflects better tracking. The organisation acknowledges this. The claim about artificial intelligence being used to remove books in bulk comes from the report itself. It is a serious and plausible claim given how widely such tools are now sold, but the details of which districts used which systems are not fully public. And a large share of the total comes from a small number of places. Texas and Florida together account for well over 11,000 of the nearly 12,000. This is not evenly spread across the United States; it is heavily concentrated where particular state laws apply. None of that changes the direction of travel. It does mean the headline figure should be read as a measure of a concentrated legal change rather than a nationwide consensus.
Practical advice
For parents in the UK, the useful things here are about reading rather than politics. Read what your child is reading, at least sometimes. It is the only way to have a real conversation about a book, and it is much more effective than a rule about what is allowed. If a book upsets your child, that is a conversation, not necessarily a mistake. Books about hard subjects are often how a young person first realises that something they are going through has a name and happens to other people. Use your library. UK public library membership is free, and most services now include free e-books and audiobooks you can borrow on a phone. Audiobooks count as reading for the purposes of enjoying a story, and they are often the way in for a child who finds decoding text hard. If your child has dyslexia or a visual impairment, ask the school's SENCO about accessible formats. Large print, coloured overlays and audio versions are usually available and often simply not offered. If you have a concern about a specific book in your child's school, ask to see the school's library policy and raise it through that. A quiet conversation with a librarian or head of English resolves most of these. And if your child has stopped reading altogether, the thing that most often fixes it is letting them choose something you would not have chosen, including comics and graphic novels.
What to know
PEN America reported on 5 October 2026 that nearly 12,000 books were banned in US public schools during the 2025 to 2026 school year, the highest number it has recorded. More than 7,000 individual titles were affected, by more than 4,000 authors, illustrators and translators, across 114 school districts. Texas accounted for more than 8,100 bans and Florida more than 3,200, driven largely by state laws. The report also says artificial intelligence was used to remove books in bulk, including manga and graphic novels. This is a US story with no direct UK equivalent, but the use of software to screen catalogues at scale is a method that could be applied anywhere. PEN America is a campaigning organisation and defines bans broadly, so the figure is best read as a measure of a concentrated legal shift rather than a nationwide average. For UK parents the practical point is unchanged: free library membership, letting children choose their own books, and talking about what they read. Sources: PEN America, 'Nearly 12,000 School Book Bans Nationwide in 2025-2026 - Biggest Number in a Single Year', 5 October 2026, https://pen.org/press-release/nearly-12000-school-book-bans-in-2025-2026 ; The Washington Times, 'Book bans hit record near 12,000 as Stephen King tops list again and schools turn to AI', 5 October 2026, https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/oct/5/record-high-12000-books-banned-schools-according-new-pen-america/ ; ClickOrlando / Associated Press, 'PEN America: Nearly 12,000 school book bans in a year, a record high', 5 October 2026, https://www.clickorlando.com/entertainment/2026/10/05/pen-america-nearly-12000-school-book-bans-in-a-year-a-record-high/ This article is for general information. It is not health advice, and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If a book has raised a worry about your child's mental health, your GP practice or school nurse is a good place to start.
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