Olivia Isacson ’26 explored the recent surge of book bans in the United States.
Olivia Isacson ’26 presented her Community and Multicultural Development (CaMD) Scholarship Presentation titled “Unveiling the Oppressiveness of Book Bans and Their Impact on Teenagers” last Friday in Kemper auditorium. Drawing parallels between historical censorship and the recent surge in book bans, she highlighted the profound and harmful effects these restrictions have on young readers and marginalized communities.
In her presentation, Isacson highlighted that 40 percent of banned books are censored due to LGBTQIA+ themes and protagonists, while another 40 percent are banned for featuring protagonists of color. She underscored the disproportionate impact on marginalized groups, emphasizing that banning such books limits awareness, silences important narratives, and restricts access to diverse perspectives.
“The importance of actually having books and encouraging students to read is so important, especially given the fact that reading for teenagers is at an all-time low. When you’re restricting a book, you’re restricting a story. Books allow for the raising of ideas and the raising of concepts. Censorship has been used to get rid of themes that challenge the way we think about issues today, and in doing so get rid of marginalized communities and their stories. Black authors are most at risk for book banning,” said Isacson.
Isacson spoke about the pivotal role books play in shaping adolescent lives, especially for those grappling with aspects of their identity. Coming from a multi-heritage family, she explained her personal motivation in advocating for literary access to younger generations.
“I grew up reading a lot. What pushed me [through teenagehood] was just having characters that I can identify with. I come from a family with a bunch of different heritages, and having heritages that express an accurate experience of what it is to be a teenage girl or being Jewish, or growing up in a Hispanic family was really important for me… Queer topics are a big theme in censorship, and [it] is really important to have an outside perspective sometimes. Books and other media play a really crucial role in discovering your identity,” said Isacson.
Cases of books being both challenged and banned have surfaced in various states, with Massachusetts coming in at fourth for the highest number of books challenged. Camille Torres Hoven, Director of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library (OWHL) and Isacson’s faculty advisor, discussed the impact that book banning has on the Andover community.
“As a director of the library, I get all sorts of books on the shelves. When you’re in [Andover] you get to take out these books, but when you go home to your communities, you might not be able to… The job of a library, especially a public library, is to have a wide range of books available for the community. Also, a bookstore is not going to have as many books as libraries. It can’t physically hold as many books and it’s going to have more bestsellers and new books, too. It’s really important to have free access in public libraries… We happen to attend a supportive school, but books are being banned in private schools, unfortunately,” said Torres Hoven.
Isacson emphasized the importance of advocacy in combating literary censorship, highlighting a stalled bill in Massachusetts aimed at preventing book bans. Torres Hoven shared ways to combat book banning and encouraged students to take action by calling legislators and demanding progress.
“[Olivia] talked about a bill in Massachusetts that is stalled that’s trying to stop this kind of censorship. If the students were calling and saying, ‘Hey, why is this bill stalled? Let’s get it passed,’ that would make a difference. You can also go talk to Memorial right down the streets and see if you can help get those books back, because readership does increase them being not taken off the shelf. There are also a lot of organizations like the Massachusetts chapter of the [American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)] that you can volunteer for,” said Torres Hoven.
Moreover, Isacson’s presentation shed light on how book bans are often driven by parental and administrative challenges rather than librarians or literary experts. Alex Lin ’28 raised concerns about the lack of defenders for challenged books, particularly in schools without dedicated librarians.
“I did a little bit of research before going to the talk. There were 700 banned books in Florida. Olivia made me realize that these banned books aren’t being banned by librarians, but by parents who challenge the books and school administrators. Also, a lot of these schools or systems don’t have librarians to defend the books in the first place. It’s not fair because if a parent doesn’t want their child to read a book, that’s fine, but they shouldn’t have the power to stop everybody from reading said book, which is what is currently happening right now,” said Lin.
