Banned Books Week: September 22 - September 28

 

Banned books week is an annually event celebrating the freedom to read. Starting in 1982, Banned Books Week began as a way to highlight growing censorship taking place in libraries, bookstores, and schools. 

Celebrating Banned Books Week and highlight the growing call for censorship is more important than ever this year. In 2023, the number of titles targeted by censorship in libraries grew over 92% from the previous year. 

Although this number seems to have grown exponentially, book bans have been going on for centuries. According to Freedom to Read, book banning goes back to 259 BC when Chinese emperor Shih Huang Ti burned Confucian scholars for writing down the history of their time. And in America, the first instance of book banning was in 1637 (before America was even a country) when the Puritans banned Thomas Morton's New English Canaan. 

The theme for Banned Books Week 2024 (September 22-28) is "Freed Between the Lines." We can find freedom in the pages of a book — but book bans and censorship threaten that freedom, along with many other rights and institutions. - ALA

Here are a few ways you can celebrate banned books week:

• Read a banned book! The ALA publishes a list of the top 10 banned books every year, check out 2023s list and reserve a copy through LINCC. 
• Spread the word! Check out the social media graphics here and share them to your social media! 
• Follow a banned author on social media!
• Check your local library or bookstore for banned book week events!
• And always, support the freedom to read! 

Book banning is not something we can easily escape, but we can do our best to support the freedom to read, expand our reading to include banned books and ensure that censorship doesn't creep into our backyard. 

What's your favorite banned book? 

Head to BannedBooksWeek.org or the ALA Banned Books Week site to learn more.