Banned Books

Missouri is one of a growing number of places where government funding is being deployed as the newest weapon in the fight over books. Beginning May 30, a new state rule could deny state funding to libraries over books deemed inappropriate for young readers — although it's not clear how it will be enforced.

Missouri library leaders say a plan by state legislators to strip state funding for public libraries across the state would weaken rural libraries.

Representatives were racing to beat a Friday deadline to get bills out of the chamber, with about two months left in the spring legislative session.

A new Missouri law made it a crime to provide minors with sexually explicit visual material, leading librarians across the state to remove anything from their collections that they thought could be considered criminal.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is proposing a library rule about age-appropriate reading materials and events that could affect state funding to public libraries if they don’t comply.

The visits from law enforcement didn’t result in any actions, but they highlight the potential stakes of Missouri’s new law criminalizing certain books in schools.

Two students in the district, which covers 90 square miles of St. Charles County, had sued over the policy, saying it violated their First Amendment rights.

Parents and lawmakers across the nation are pushing to ban books in schools. Many of the challenged books are by Black or LGBTQ authors. St. Louis-area students are determined to read banned materials to better understand Black history.

Are there books that contain ideas so crucial to understanding the world that it's actually dangerous not to read them? KCUR reached out to Kansas City's biggest book-readers and change-makers to find out what titles they'd put on such a list. Here's what they said.