Coming Up: Banned Book Week 2023

Take a look at the following list of books.  What do you think they have in common?

A Wrinkle in Time

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Harry Potter series

The Higher Power of Lucky

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Bridge to Terabithia

The Giver

The Giving Tree

To Kill a Mockingbird

Little House on the Prairie

Think you know?  If you said they have all been challenged or censored, you would be correct.  Each of the titles above (and more) are books we have in our library that have been challenged and, in some cases, removed from schools and libraries across the United States.

Each year, during the month of September leading up to Banned Books Week, our library displays these books and the reasons they have been challenged. 

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and highlighting the value of free and open access to information.  Additionally, the week spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools.

Unfortunately, challenges are on the rise.  Each year, the Office of Intellectual Freedom tracks and collects information regarding book challenges. You can go here to see a list of the top ten books challenged each year and the number of total known challenges made.  You can also view the picture below to see some statistics regarding challenges.  

It remains as important as ever that we protect our right to free access to information in both our public libraries and our public school libraries.  Not every adult can afford to buy books from a book store or Amazon and not every child has a parent who is able to drive them to a public library during business hours.

This year, Banned Book Week will be officially celebrated from Oct. 1 – 7.

Celebrating Banned Book Week 2022!

"Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. For 40 years, the annual event has brought 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. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools. 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 theme for Banned Books Week 2022 is "Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us." Sharing stories important to us means sharing a part of ourselves. Books reach across boundaries and build connections between readers. Censorship, on the other hand, creates barriers. Banned Books Week is both a reminder of the unifying power of stories and the divisiveness of censorship, and a call to action for readers across the country to push back against censorship attempts in their communities".   -American Library Association

You may be interested to see some of the titles which have been challenged (and banned in some places) throughout the years.  Over the past decade, the following books have made it onto the Top Ten Most Challenged Book List compiled by the American Library Association, and some titles made were on the list multiple years):

 Skippyjon Jones

Harry Potter

The Hunger Games

Captain Underpants

Drama

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Bible

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Banned Book Week 2022 is being celebrated from September 18 - September 24, 2022.  Stop by the library for more information and to see a display of some books that have been frequently challenged and the reason for the challenge.