Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read

September 22−28, 2013

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. 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.

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. Check out the frequently challenged books section to explore the issues and controversies around book challenges and book banning. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.

For more information on getting involved with Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, please see Calendar of Events, Ideas and Resources, and the new Banned Books Week site. You can also contact the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4220, or bbw@ala.org.

Highlights from Banned Books Week 2012

Banned Books Week 2012 marked its 30th anniversary (see timeline). Thousands of individuals and institutions across the United States participate in Banned Books Week each year, and it has grown into a premier literary event and a national awareness and advocacy campaign around censorship. Award-winning broadcast journalists Bill Moyers and Judith Davidson Moyers had been named Honorary Co-Chairs of Banned Books Week. 

Bill Moyers, the host of “Moyers & Company” on public television and a long-time supporter of Banned Books Week, has produced a video essay addressing the importance of our freedom to seek and express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. “Censorship is the enemy of truth, even more than a lie,” said Bill Moyers. “A lie can be exposed; censorship can prevent us from knowing the difference.”
 
Moyers’s video is part of the Virtual Read Out, an advocacy campaign to spotlight the harms of censorship of books in schools and libraries, and provide an opportunity for readers to demonstrate their support for the First Amendment by reading from their favorite banned or 
challenged books. Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Sara Paretsky, author of VI Warshawski fame, and Poet Laureate of San Antonio, Carmen Tafolla joined Moyers in the Virtual Read-Out with videos of them reading from their banned/challenged works or their favorite banned/challenged novel. Check out the Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out channel on YouTube for access to more videos.
 
Banned Books Virtual Read-Out
 
In addition to the continuation of the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out, the Office for Intellectual Freedom delivered the 50 State Salute to Banned Books Week in coordination with ALA Chapters. The 50 State Salute consisted of videos on how each state celebrates the freedom to read. Click on the logo to videos your state produced:

50 State Salute to Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; the Freedom to Read Foundation; National Coalition Against Censorship; National Council of Teachers of English; National Association of College Stores; PEN American Center and and Project Censored.  It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.