Every year, hundreds of books are challenged to be banned from libraries and schools throughout the world. These challenges aim to restrict or even completely remove access to certain books.
Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. 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 American Library Association (ALA)'s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country. (American Library Association, 2011).
Have you read them?
(Source: American Library Association, 2019)
See what happens when these puppets misinterpret the meaning of Banned Books Week!
Literature helps us navigate the world by shining a light on challenging and uncomfortable topics. Censorship leaves us in the dark. Of the 483 books that were challenged or banned in 2018, these are the Top 11 Most Challenged. The annual list is compiled by the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.
