No plans to remove Walliams books from West libraries

Councils in the west have confirmed that books written by David Walliams will not be removed from libraries and schools.

Bristol, Gloucestershire, and Somerset are among council that have said they would not remove works by the author, who denies allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power.

Bristol and Somerset's libraries are overseen by LibrariesWest, whose guidance encourages libraries "to make available the broadest range of material" and "would only restrict access to material to protect it from damage or theft, not as a form of censorship". Gloucestershire operates a similar policy.

It is ultimately up to schools to decide if they want to remove books.

LibrariesWest also oversees libraries in Bath and North East Somerset (BANES), South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and several in Dorset.

A section in a document covering 'censorship and controversial stock' includes guidance from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals that librarians have a 'core and ongoing commitment to freedom of expression and freedom of access to information'.

The policy also says that "LibrariesWest will make available the broadest range of material within its policy of freedom of access to all legally available information.

It is acknowledged that on occasion individuals may find items in LibrariesWest libraries offensive.

However, we do not label items to warn customers of potentially sensitive content and would only restrict access to material to protect it from damage or theft, not as a form of censorship."

David Walliams sold around 50 million copies of his award winning children's books, which include titles like Gangsta Granny and Demon Dentist.

The actor and comedian was dropped by his publishers, Harper Collins, in 2025 over allegations around his conduct.

In September, the company announced it was severing all ties with him in September and would no longer restock his back catalogue and some bookshops have sought to return unsold copies of his work.

Decisions about whether schools or libraries should stock his work is ultimately left up to them.

Asked whether the star's books would be removed from South Gloucestershire Council libraries and schools, a spokesperson said:

"It would be something for the individual schools rather than for us to issue a directive, and our libraries are guided by the LibrariesWest Collection Development Policy."

A spokesperson for Somerset Council said that "Decisions about library stock continue to be made in line with our existing policies and normal library processes."

Councillor Stephen Williams, Chair of the Public Health and Communities Committee at Bristol City Council, said:

"Our approach to library collections has not changed.

We provide a balanced range of stock in line with our Collection Development Policy and have no plans to remove the David Walliams titles currently held in our libraries.

Decisions about books stocked in school libraries are a matter for individual schools."

Gloucestershire County Council are not part of LibrariesWest but say they also have no plans to ban books by Walliams.

"People can decide what they do or don't want to read, and we recognise that everyone will have their own views and make their own choices," said Councillor Paul Hodgkinson, cabinet member responsible for libraries at Gloucestershire County Council.

"Our role as a library service is to provide a wide range of books and give readers the freedom to make those choices for themselves.

"We regularly review and refresh our collections based on what people want to read. Demand for these books has fallen in recent years, so we would expect the number of copies available to reduce naturally over time."

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