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Banned Books Guide

What is Banned Book Week?

2022 Banned Books Week September 18th - 24th

 

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. It 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. 

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. 

 

"Banned Books Week (September 2021)", American Library Association, December 11, 2012. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/banned (Accessed August 12, 2021) Document ID: be933510-a8c2-4f72-9b65-9a8eb7b89f69

Tell us about what Banned Books you have read  @UNT_Libraries

History of Banned Book Week

Banned Books Week was launched in the 1980s, a time of increased challenges, organized protests, and the Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) Supreme Court case, which ruled that school officials can’t ban books in libraries simply because of their content.

Banned books were showcased at the 1982 American Booksellers Association (ABA) BookExpo America trade show in Anaheim, California. At the entrance to the convention center towered large, padlocked metal cages, with some 500 challenged books stacked inside and a large overhead sign cautioning that some people considered these books dangerous.


ALA is currently part of a national coalition to promote Banned Books Week, along with 14 other contributors and sponsors. Krug led the Banned Books Week efforts as OIF director until her unexpected death in 2009. Her legacy lives on in the Freedom to Read Foundation’s Judith F. Krug Memorial Fund, a grant awarded to nonprofits to host Banned Books Week events.

 

Today, Banned Books Week coverage by mainstream media reaches an estimated 2.8 billion readers, and more than 90,000 publishing industry and library subscribers. The Banned Books page remains one of the top two most popular pages on the ALA website.

 

"Banned Books Week (September 22-28, 2019)", American Library Association, December 11, 2012.

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/banned (Accessed August 20, 2019)

Document ID: be933510-a8c2-4f72-9b65-9a8eb7b89f69

Escape Room Adventure

Escape The Dead End Of Censorship! A Virtual Escape Room Adventure

Test out your skills in this awesome virtual escape room created by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Round Table and Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table. Click the image below to start your adventure and see if you can "Escape The Dead End of Censorship!"

 

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