Banned Books Week
If you believe…
• Books are tools for understanding complex issues.
• Young people deserve to see themselves reflected in a library’s books.
• Parents should not be making decisions for other parents’ children.
• Individuals should be trusted to make their own decisions about what to read.
• Limiting young people’s access to books does not protect them from life’s complex and challenging issues.
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.
Access to a wide variety of reading materials is critical for student development and well-being.
Get involved:
Speak out. Announce the importance of unrestricted reading on your local public radio station with a PSA script.
Write letters to the editor, your public library director and your school principal supporting the freedom to read.
Talk to your friends about why everyone should be allowed to choose for themselves and their families what they read.
Exercise your reading rights. Check out a banned book. Encourage your book club to discuss rebellious reads.
Join the Freedom to Read Foundation. It’s dedicated to the legal and financial defense of intellectual freedom, especially in libraries.
