Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) is a landmark case where the Supreme Court ruled that school boards cannot remove books from libraries based on content, affirming students' First Amendment rights. The decision safeguarded students' access to diverse and controversial material, limiting the power of school boards to censor content they disagree with.
free expression
Book Banning
Book burning and banning as a form of censorship is a recurring phenomenon throughout history. The American Library Association reports a significant increase in challenges to library books, with divisive political viewpoints being the primary reason in recent years. Although court rulings uphold the protection of offensive materials under the First Amendment, efforts to censor information persist. The irony of book bans is that it often leads to increased exposure, known as the Streisand effect.
Greg C. Miller, Author 