Every year the American Library Association marks the freedom to read with Banned Books Week. Part of this celebration is their list of the most challenged books for the year. 2021 saw the most banned books since the ALA began tracking banned books 20 years ago. There were 729 attempts to remove 1597 books! 

In 2021, top reasons for banning books:

• overt Biblical references
• use of racial slurs
• descriptions of White saviorism
• anti-male bias
• containing Critical Race Theory

Hekman Library's collection development policy addresses the library's stance toward censorship:
"Calvin University is committed to the pursuit of Christian scholarship, which explores and engages issues in all areas of intellectual, artistic and cultural endeavor. The Hekman Library supports that goal by providing access to materials that present a broad range of ideas and points of view in all areas of the curriculum."