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Banned Books Week

A collection of resources to help raise awareness about the importance of freedom of information and help you make your voice heard in the fight against banning books.

Banned Books Week - Let Freedom Read

"Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. Typically (but not always) held during the last week of September, the annual event highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community — librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas."

-American Library Association

Banned Books Week in the Library

 

 

 

Visit our table outside the library from 11am until 1pm on Monday to learn more about book bans, to talk to library staff about this work, and to make buttons showing your support!

Banned Books Week continues, and the library wants you to know where we stand

We believe…

  • Books are tools for understanding complex issues.

  • Everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in a library’s books.

  • Individuals should be trusted to make their own decisions about what to read.

  • Limiting access to books does not protect people from life’s complex and challenging issues.

If you believe these things, too, join the fight! Even if you only have five minutes, here’s how you can help.

This week is Banned Books Week, but readers and advocates across the country work together year-round to help defend books from censorship. Join the movement by checking out these online events, happening today!

  • Navigating Threats to Academic Freedom: Experiences and Needs
    • Wednesday, October 4, 10 am central
    • As book bans continue to rise across the United States and challenges to academic freedom grow at an alarming rate, this webinar brings together researchers and scholars who will share their experiences and discuss the support that is needed in education across the country. This webinar will highlight the realities we face, but also plot a map to possible solutions.
  • Livestream with LeVar Burton
    • Wednesday, October 4, 7pm central
    • Follow @banned_books_week on Instagram to tune in to a livestream with LeVar Burton about his anti-censorship work.

We continue raising awareness about Banned Books Week, a time to bring attention to the harms of censorship and the rise of book bans. Learn more about why it matters and what students in particular are doing about it.

 

Check out these online events:

  • Ibram X. Kendi’s speech from Rally for the Right to Read
    • Thursday, October 5, 1pm central
    • This hour-long webinar will celebrate the right to read and librarians’ role in providing access for all. Representatives from Unite Against Book Bans will also join the webinar to share resources and offer a myriad of ways that viewers can join in the fight for the freedom to read. Ten lucky LIVE webinar attendees will win a full set of Ibram X. Kendi’s books for their library.
  • A Seat at the Table: Youth Advocates on Fighting Book Bans
    • Thursday, October 5, 7pm central
    • Some of the strongest voices in the fight against book bans are the students that censors claim they are protecting. Join Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels for an inspiring roundtable discussion about youth advocacy in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, and how that work can inform opposition to censorship around the country. 

 

 

Get involved! Swing by the library to pick up a button to show your support, and check out ways you can make a difference.