Top 5 states |
highest percentage of total book bans in the U.S.
40%
18%
10%
8%
5%
Texas
1,406 books
Virginia
625 books
Florida
333 books
Tennessee
281 books
Idaho
186 books
Top 3 banned books |
by school district in the 2022-23 school year
Tricks, Ellen Hopkins
Looking for Alaska, John Green
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
33 bans
29 bans
27 bans
Subject matter of banned content
Themes or instances of violence & physical abuse
Topics on health and wellbeing for students
Sexual experiences between characters
Characters of color or
themes of race
and racism
LGBTQ+ characters or themes
Themes of grief and death
48%
42%
33%
30%
30%
29%
PEN America, founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights. - Wikipedia. These metrics have been provided by PEN America.
3,362
instances of book bans recorded in the 2022-23 school year
Research
The top is made from solid two-tone walnut wood, laminated using domino joinery, and finished with natural shade Danish oil
The rotating shelves are made from plywood and
3D-printed parts
The structure is supported by a steel framework of tubes and sheets
The central axis around which the shelves rotate contains a custom
3D-printed light fixture to accommodate 12 LED light strips. The wiring of the light runs through the steel tubes inside the legs.
The legs are made from pink foam sheets that are CNC machined.
Build
Dramatizing
effect with light and rotational movement to attract users
Contains banned books shrouded in red velvet fabric
White stationary legs represent anti-progress
are inspired by
Greek sculptures
The rotational movement adds
a layer of mystery while picking
out a book
The library is imagined to be placed in cafes, and make people aware about book banning in the U.S.
Ideation
What?
It is a sculptural furniture piece which
is part lending library and part coffee table.
It is meant to be
used in a cafe.
Why?
It exists for the sole purpose of spreading awareness about censorship of books in schools in the U.S., by making banned books easily accessible in a nearby cafe.
How?
The library carries books. People can keep their coffee on the table, lend a book, and engage in healthy discussions.
Gallery
The Library of Forbidden Knowledge
IDD Thesis Project
Literary Censorship
2023
