How is the list of most challenged books tabulated?
The American Library Association (ALA) collects information from two sources: newspapers and reports submitted by individuals.. All challenges are compiled into a database. Reports of challenges culled from newspapers across the country are compiled in the bimonthly Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom; those reports are then compiled in the Banned Books Week Resource Guide. Challenges reported to the ALA by individuals are kept confidential. In these cases, ALA will release only the title of the book being challenged, the state and the type of institution (school, public library). The name of the institution and its town will not be disclosed. The following books from the Cabrillo College Library’s collection were included in a list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000. Research suggests that for each challenge reported to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, there are as many as four or five that go unreported. • I Know Why the Caged B
