(NEW YORK) – PEN America joins the Michigan ACLU today in raising concerns over the troubling decision by the Cromaine, MI District Library’s Board of Trustees’ to relocate children’s and young adult books to the adult section, bypassing the library’s review process. Based on local reporting, 148 titles were reclassified, many containing LGBTQ+ related content.
“Reshelving books is the latest maneuver to undermine access to topics public officials don’t want children or young adults to read. This is extremely troubling amid the rising atmosphere of censorship that has seen 23,000 instances of book bans in schools nationwide since 2021,” said Kasey Meehan, director, Freedom to Read at PEN America. “By relocating books to the adult section, these titles are unlikely to be read by the audiences they were intended for— children and young adults.
The board circumvented its own policies on book challenges by reclassifying over 100 titles. Without reviewing a book in its entirety, literary merit and age-relevance are completely disregarded.
Meehan said: “We urge the Cromaine District Library’s Board of Trustees to return all reclassified titles back to the children and young adults section and follow their policies around book reconsideration and appeals for all submitted challenges. Restricting and removing access, based on content, is a threat to free expression and erodes the constitutional rights of Michiganders.”
In March 2025, 220 titles were challenged by community members. By July 2025, the library director, following board policies, had reviewed and decided to retain all titles, although several titles were reshelved to adult or parenting sections and labels for “sexually explicit material” or “social issues” were added to others. The decisions were immediately appealed to the board. In November 2025, the board decided to review all challenged titles. In May 2026, after reading upwards of 40 titles in their entirety, per the Board’s reconsideration policy, the Board members voted to reclassify 148 of the remaining titles to the adult section. This decision circumvented Board policy, citing concerns about time to read each title. Books moved to the adult section without undergoing review include the picture book My Own Way by Joana Estrela and Jay Hulme and LGBT Families: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender by H. W. Poole, among other titles that largely depict LGBTQ+ identities or discuss sexuality and gender identity.
The reclassification of titles purposely restricts access from the intended age group–children and young adult readers–which PEN America defines as a form of censorship. The targeting of LGTBQ+ material follows national trends in censorship; in our latest report, Facts & Fiction, books with LGBTQ+ characters or people made up 39% of all banned titles.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], (201) 247-5057