Banned Books: Home

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. The week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. 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.

Source: BannedBooksWeek.org

What is the difference between a challenge and a ban?

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.  A banning is the removal of those materials.  Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. 

Source: ALA.org 

Banned and Challenged Titles

Visit the Library to browse our available titles or view our collection online. 

Read or listen to books from the Top 13 Banned Books list on the Libby App here.