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Banned Books Week

                            "Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country." - Banned Books Week Coalition

The SJR State Library is committed to protecting intellectual freedom and supports the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, Freedom to Read Statement, Freedom to View Statement, and Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries.

Resources

National Library Week kicks off with the highly anticipated annual list of Top 10 Most Challenged Books and State of America's Libraries Report

American Library Association reports record number of demands to censor library books and materials in 2022

American Library Association Releases Preliminary Data on 2022 Book Bans

Book Banning FAQ

PEN America tracks all book bans in libraries and classrooms across the U.S. in our Index of School Book Bans, updated for the 2022-2023 school year.

Read a Banned Book!

Photo of a person readingOctober 2 - 6: Get Booked in the Library!

It's #BannedBooksWeek! Will you get caught? Show us what you're reading by taking a photo in the Library through October 6!

 

Read a Banned Book

Book Resumes

Book resumes help teachers, librarians, parents, and community members defend books from censorship. They detail each title's significance and educational value and are easy to share! Bookmark this page! Thousands of library books face censorship, so new book resumes are added on a regular basis!