Oregonians pushed libraries to remove or relocate a record number of books in the past year.

A new report from the Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse, a program of the state library, found 85 titles were “challenged” from July 2022 through June 2023. That’s more than double any year in the past two decades.

The clearinghouse received 45 reports of challenges for the year, a drop from the 54 reports in the prior year.

Seven of those complaints were about libraries’ Pride Month displays. Complainants protested “promoting anti-faith and pro homosexual activities and lifestyle,” “the exposure of children to LGBTQIA materials,” and “not represent(ing) all points of view,” according to the clearinghouse report.

All seven displays remained up, despite the complaints.

But administrators at one school told library staff to remove a display for Banned Books Week after a group of students claimed they “no longer felt ‘safe or comfortable’” at the library, the report found.

Klamath County commissioners asked a library director to discontinue the library’s Social Justice Book Club after a community member told officials that “the topic was too political and shouldn’t be held as the library.” The clearinghouse report doesn’t name the libraries, but that incident was reported by Jefferson Public Radio.

A different library director received threatening emails calling them a “pedophile” and “groomer” after the library planned a Gender Affirming Closet event. That event was held as planned, after the library director contacted the city manager, city attorney and local law enforcement.

The Driftwood Public Library in Lincoln City received backlash for the event after it was covered in the news, including on national right-wing news sites and social media.

Of the challenges to books or other materials, the most common reasons cited by complainants were that the books include LGBTQIA+ or sexually explicit content.

The books were retained in 25 out of 31 incidents.

“ABC Pride,” “The Big Book of Pride Flags,” and “If You’re a Kid Like Gavin” were among the children’s picture books that were challenged for their LGBTQIA+ themes. All three were retained.

“Heartstopper,” a series of graphic novels about a gay high school couple; “Flamer,” semi-autobiographical graphic novel about a Filipino-American teen coming to terms with his sexuality as he faces bullying; and “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” a book about a teen boy who reconnects with a childhood friend who is dying of cancer, were the most frequently challenged books in Oregon.

“Flamer,” one of the most banned books nationally, was retained in all three complaints. The outcomes for the other two books varied in different incidents.

Three public libraries, like the Crook County Library, have received numerous challenges to LGBTQIA+ materials for more than a year, the report stated.

“Initiators state that the libraries are ‘promoting’ content, ‘distributing pornography to minors,’ and encouraging ‘sexualization of young children.’ Staff have been intimidated and harassed, called groomers and pedophiles, and received death threats. Materials have been hidden, stolen, and turned around,” the report noted.

The state library is starting to track “challenges that bypass established processes,” like instances of library visitors hiding, stealing or throwing away books they object to. Library staff made five reports of such incidents. The state library said it will “continue to monitor this situation.”

The clearinghouse collects challenge reports from public libraries and school libraries. The 45 official challenges only include those that escalated to a formal written report or the complainant asking to meet with library leadership, so not every instance of a patron complaining to library staff about a book is included in the report.