New Mexico has seen comparatively few enacted book bans, even as the practice surged nationally. Local removal attempts — most visibly a 2023 effort in Rio Rancho targeting books with LGBTQ content — have largely failed, and state lawmakers have repeatedly debated measures to discourage library bans. While PEN America counted roughly 6,870 book bans across 23 states in the 2024–25 school year alone, New Mexico has not been a center of the trend. This page lays out what has actually happened in the state, defines the terms precisely, presents the arguments on both sides fairly, and points readers to the challenged books themselves.
Published June 2026 · Compiled by Josh Eldred, New Mexico Literacy Project · Sources cited below
First, the terms
Challenge vs. ban
A challenge is a formal attempt to remove or restrict materials based on the objections of a person or group. A ban is the removal itself. The American Library Association (ALA) tracks both and emphasizes that most challenges are never formally reported, so public numbers understate the activity.
"Banned" rarely means "illegal to own." In the U.S., a book "banned" from a school or public library is removed from that collection; it remains legal to buy, borrow elsewhere, and read. That distinction matters for understanding both the stakes and the remedies.
What has happened in New Mexico
New Mexico has not been immune to the national wave, but the state's record is markedly different from the high-ban states. The most prominent episode came in Rio Rancho in 2023, when residents asked the city council to remove books — several with LGBTQ themes — from the public library. The effort drew large public turnout on both sides and did not result in a ban. Smaller challenge attempts have surfaced elsewhere, including in the Alamogordo area, and New Mexico State University librarians have documented the broader "borderland" history of censorship in the region.
On the whole, New Mexico ranks low on national ban trackers. Several factors are usually credited: strong professional library culture, a state library establishment that defends collection policies, and a political climate that has tended to resist removals. The result is that the state has functioned more as a counter-example to the national trend than as a participant in it.
The legislative debate
New Mexico's response has played out in the statehouse as well as in library board rooms, and it has run in both directions. On one side, legislators introduced what was described as a Librarian Protection Act (sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Cates of Rio Rancho), which would discourage public libraries from removing books for "partisan or doctrinal" reasons or because of an author's identity; the measure advanced through committee during the 2025 session. On the other side, a state senator floated a proposal to rate school library books for sexual, racial, and LGBTQ+ content. As of early 2026, neither approach had been enacted into law, and the issue remains live.
The arguments, fairly stated
Because this is a genuine public controversy, it is worth setting out what each side actually argues, in its strongest form.
Those who seek removals or restrictions generally argue that some titles available to minors contain sexually explicit material they consider age-inappropriate, and that parents — not schools — should have the final say over what their children can access in a taxpayer-funded library. They frame the issue as parental rights and age-appropriateness, not as opposition to ideas.
Those who oppose removals generally argue that the freedom to read is a First Amendment value, that removing books from a shared collection imposes one family's judgment on all families, that parents can already guide their own children's borrowing without removing books for everyone, and that challenges fall disproportionately on books by and about LGBTQ people and people of color. National data showing that those categories are the most-challenged is central to their case.
Both positions are held sincerely by many New Mexicans. The state's libraries generally try to honor both through a formal, transparent reconsideration process rather than ad-hoc removal.
How a New Mexico library actually handles a challenge
Most public libraries and school districts in New Mexico follow a written reconsideration process. A patron submits a formal request for reconsideration of a specific title; a committee — often including librarians and community members — reads the whole work and evaluates it against the collection-development policy; and a documented decision is made, with an appeal path. The point of the process is to replace a single objection with a deliberate, on-the-record review. If you have a concern about a book, asking your library for its reconsideration form is the legitimate channel; if you want to defend a book, that same process is where public comment carries weight.
Which books get challenged
Nationally, the most-challenged titles tracked by the ALA in recent years have included Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Looking for Alaska by John Green, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, among others. The common threads cited by ALA and PEN are sexual content, LGBTQ+ themes, and discussions of race. Many enduring literary classics — To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, Beloved, The Catcher in the Rye — have long histories of challenges as well. New Mexico's own canon is not exempt: Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima has been challenged in various places over the years for its language and religious themes, even as it remains a fixture of New Mexico classrooms.
How to read banned & challenged books
The practical reality is that a challenged book is almost always still easy to get. Public libraries across New Mexico carry the titles above; e-book apps like Libby lend them instantly; independent bookstores stock them; and the used-book economy keeps older challenged titles in circulation indefinitely. Banned Books Week — held the first week of October (October 4–10 in 2026) under the theme "Let Books Be" — is the annual event built around reading and discussing frequently challenged works. It is the easiest on-ramp for a reader, a classroom, or a book club that wants to engage the list directly.
Keeping books physically in circulation is, in a quiet way, part of the answer. Every challenged title that stays in a home, a Little Free Library, or a used-book stream is a copy that no removal can reach. That is one more reason the donation economy and the freedom to read pull in the same direction.
Frequently asked questions
Are books banned in New Mexico?
Comparatively rarely. Local removal attempts have occurred — most notably the 2023 Rio Rancho effort — but most have failed, and the state has debated legislation to discourage library bans. New Mexico is generally seen as bucking the national trend.
What's the difference between a banned book and a challenged book?
A challenge is a formal attempt to remove or restrict a book; a ban is the actual removal. Most challenges don't end in a ban, and the ALA notes many challenges go unreported.
How can I read banned or challenged books?
They're almost always still available through public libraries, Libby and other e-book apps, independent bookstores, and used-book channels. Banned Books Week (first week of October) is built around reading them.
Cite This Article
Eldred, J. (June 2026). Banned Books in New Mexico: What's Challenged and Why. New Mexico Literacy Project.
https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/banned-books-new-mexico
Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cite with attribution.