A secondary school in Greater Manchester deployed artificial intelligence to justify removing close to 200 books from its library shelves, according to an investigation by free expression charity Index on Censorship.
Among the titles flagged as unsuitable for pupils were George Orwell's dystopian classic 1984, Stephanie Meyer's vampire romance Twilight, and Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming.
The investigation revealed the school used AI to produce written explanations for why each book should be banned.
The institution's librarian was subsequently subjected to a safeguarding investigation over the presence of the select books deemed inappropriate, ultimately leading to her resignation.
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Index on Censorship has withheld both the school's identity and the librarian's name, citing her vulnerability.
The purge commenced in November 2025 when the headteacher ordered the removal of Laura Bates' non-fiction work Men Who Hate Women, an investigation into incel culture.
Despite the title being kept in a designated section for older students, the head deemed it inappropriate because it exposed misogynistic beliefs.
School used AI to launch crackdown on ‘inappropriate’ books including George Orwell’s 1984 | GETTYFollowing this initial demand, the school launched a formal investigation into the librarian and shut down the library entirely as part of what it termed a "temporary safeguarding measure".
The librarian received instructions to pull any book "not written for children", containing "themes that could be upsetting to children", or posing "a safeguarding risk".
"I was absolutely gobsmacked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing," she told Index on Censorship.
The school also reported her to the local council as a safeguarding concern, and threatened gross misconduct proceedings.
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The school provided the librarian with a list of 193 books it considered potentially inappropriate, with AI-generated summaries explaining each removal.
A graphic novel adaptation of 1984, illustrated by Matyáš Namai, was flagged for "themes of torture, violence, sexual coercion".
Twilight, typically recommended for readers aged 14 and above, was cited for "mature romantic themes, sexual tension, and violence involving vampires and werewolves".
Meanwhile, Michelle Obama's autobiography was deemed problematic due to "racism and political themes".
Perhaps most bizarrely, Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook was listed because it depicted "a romantic drama about enduring love and memory loss" - the novel tells the story of a husband helping his wife with Alzheimer's remember their shared life.
Terry Pratchett's comedic fantasy Soul Music was flagged for "adult audience content" potentially including "sexual material, violence, abuse, substance misuse, or psychologically distressing themes".
The council's safeguarding complaint proceeded and was upheld on grounds that the librarian had failed to follow safeguarding procedures regarding "multiple books" with "inappropriate content".
She maintains that some titles were ordered by other staff members, and that her line manager approved all purchases.
The School Libraries Group, part of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, is now supporting her.
Caroline Roche, the group's chair, told Index: "This is over the top. It's ruined her career. The fact it's gone through safeguarding means she will never be able to work in a school again".
An Index spokesman described the case as "an unprecedented attack on the freedom to read and intellectual freedom, where important safeguarding measures have been misused to threaten and target a school librarian".