Greater Manchester school uses AI to remove 200 library books
A Greater Manchester school used an AI tool to identify approximately 200 books as 'inappropriate' and remove them from its library, including literary classics and age-appropriate young adult fiction. The school librarian was subsequently placed under investigation for allowing the books to remain, leading to stress and her reported resignation.
What happened
A secondary school in Greater Manchester used an AI tool to identify 193 books it deemed 'inappropriate', with the school planning to remove approximately 200 books from its library shelves.
The AI flagged titles including George Orwell's 1984, Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, Michelle Obama's autobiography Becoming, and Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook, citing reasons such as 'themes of torture, violence, sexual coercion', 'mature romantic themes, sexual tension', and 'racism and political themes'.
Reported impact
The school librarian was placed under a 'safeguarding' investigation for allowing the books to remain in the library, leading her to sign off sick with stress. A complaint hearing proceeded despite her illness.
The librarian reportedly resigned from her position and disclosed the incident to Index on Censorship on condition of anonymity.
Index analysis
The AI system misclassified widely-read and age-appropriate materials as unsuitable for a school library. Twilight, marketed toward teenage audiences, was flagged for content described as inappropriate, while the graphic novel adaptation of 1984 was marked as containing graphic violence despite its educational merit.
Governance controls
The school informed the librarian that although the categorization was generated using AI, it considered the classification 'broadly accurate', indicating reliance on the AI tool's output without independent review.
The school required the librarian to remove any book deemed 'not written for children', placing responsibility on library staff to implement the AI-generated list.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.