[JumpCrisscross]

This is an impractical delineation. If any unit of government is treating any book as contraband, everyone be worried.

The actual levels are books being:

1) removed from classroom curriculum;

2) removed from a school library;

3) confiscated from students at school;

4) removed from a public library; and

5) confiscated from adults anywhere.

One seems unproblematic in general. Five is universally alarming. Two is largely what is being discussed, though it has a habit of sliding into Four. Three is a strange one; I haven't thought about it.

[happytoexplain]

I have no comment on the specific topic of this thread, but: I'm confused by your characterization of #1 as "unproblematic in general". Removing books from curriculums for religious or political reasons is a pretty high-profile form of book banning, historically, isn't it?

[JumpCrisscross]

> Removing books from curriculums for religious or political reasons is a pretty high-profile form of book banning, historically, isn't it?

The context is "books banned by governments." There are areligious, apolitical and even legitimate reasons for school boards to remove books from classroom curriculums. In general, the action is not problematic. That doesn't preclude problematic instances.

[doingmaths]

Yeah, I would argue #1 has been commonly involved in genocides in the past, where works of a particular culture are removed from curricula to prevent children from learning about their cultures.