Banned Books Week is taking place this week from October 5th-11th. This year’s honorary chair is George Takei. The top 10 most challenged books of 2024 can be found here. Find the areas hit hardest by book bans with this interactive map.
We are commemorating Banned Books Week with a Collection Spotlight featuring banned and challenged books, which can be found in Perkins Library on exhibit near the book drop at the Perkins Service Desk. Stop by to find your next read!
If you are interested in learning more, here are some online events happening this week:
Contested Classics with Dr. Michelle Parrinello-Cason and Dr. Amanda Barton on October 8th at 1:00pm ET.
A Fight for Our Rights: Youth Fighting Book Bans on October 8th at 4:00pm ET.
What Happens When Young People Actually Read “Banned” Books? on October 8th at 5:30pm ET.
Publishing in the Storm, hosted by Lee Wind from IBPA, the Independent Book Publishers Association on October 10th at 1:00pm ET.
If you know someone impacted by book bans, there are several efforts to make these books available, including The Digital Public Library of America’s Banned Book Club project and the Brooklyn Public Library’s Books UnBanned project.
If a local library decides not to accession a particular book, that’s one thing, but the recent firing of the Librarian of Congress and the removal of books from the library of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis by order of the current administration, that’s bad news.