High Point Library to launch book club for challenged works

There’s been a surge in attempts to censor books in libraries across the country this year. Now the High Point Public Library is responding with a new club.

The Shelf Indulgence Book Club is scheduled to hold its first meeting next month in the Book Lovers' Room of the library on North Main Street. The plan is for attendees to discuss works that have been banned or challenged in schools or libraries. Club members will decide what books to read, which can come from a variety of genres.

Shirlene Stotts is an associate at the High Point Public Library. She says there haven’t been any challenges to titles there but she’s shocked when she sees it happening anywhere else.

“When we made the book club, we wanted this to be a place where people can feel safe at," she says. "And also a place where they feel safe to read any book they want, and not feel judged about it.”

The club is free and open to adults and teens.

In a report covering the first eight months of the year, the American Library Association (ALA) found that there were attempts to challenge more than 1,900 unique titles in the United States. That was a 20% increase over the same period in 2022. Most works challenged involved people of color or LGBTQ individuals.

The ALA reports there were 18 challenges in North Carolina involving 114 titles.