LibraryGuides: Banned Books: About Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week Honorary Chair

LeVar Burton to Lead 2023 Banned Books Week as Honorary Chair

Beloved reading advocate, writer, and television and film star LeVar Burton will lead this year’s Banned Books Week, which takes place October 1–7, 2023. Burton is the first actor to serve as honorary chair of Banned Books Week, an annual weeklong event that highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.

Burton will headline a live virtual conversation with Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels about censorship and advocacy. The event will stream live on Instagram (@banned_books_week) Wednesday, October 4th at 8:00pm ET. Visit BannedBooksWeek.org for more details.

Learn more about Levar Burton, the Banned Books Week Coalition, and the American Library Association at Banned & Challenged Books.

LeVar Burton discusses the State of Banned Books

About Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The American Library Association condemns censorship and works to ensure free access to information.

What's the difference between a challenge and a banning?

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. Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection.

"About Banned & Challenged Books", American Library Association, December 10, 2012.

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/aboutbannedbooks

Ask Me Anything About Censorship

Banned Books in the News

50 Years of Intellectual Freedom: The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom celebrates its history
This December [2017], OIF is celebrating 50 years of fighting for intellectual freedom: half a century of championing libraries, finding allies within the literary community, and aiding librarians in times of high anxiety. It’s an evolving role to be cherished and safeguarded.
Access Denied
Florida teachers discuss life and lessons in classrooms without books
Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools
Update on Book Bans in the 2022-2023 School Year Shows Expanded Censorship of Themes Centered on Race, History, Sexual Orientation and Gender
Banning Books Is a Modern-Day American Horror Story
We Must Expose This Injustice as a Threat to Civil Rights and Liberties
Beyond Book Bans | Censorship
Censorship efforts in the 2020s have moved beyond concerned parents to include restrictive legislation, library board power plays, and defunding
Bills Target Librarians
The article reports on the bills being considered by U.S. legislators that would change the criminal code for obscenity laws and make it possible to charge public and school librarians with a crime based on the books in their collection or content of their lessons. Topics include comments from EveryLibrary executive director John Chrastka, the legislative focus on public and school librarians, and the support of EveryLibrary for librarians in eight states in their work to defeat the bills.
Book Bans Affect Everybody — Here’s How You Can Help
I’m just one librarian and educator. I don’t have all the answers, and the ones I do are rooted in my personal feelings as much as my professional knowledge. A single article cannot include everything you need to know, but I can offer some strategies for both stopping bans before they happen and what to do after the ban is in place.
Call Number with American Libraries Podcast: It Could Happen to You
This episode of Call Number (formerly known as Dewey Decibel) looks at book banning, challenges, and censorship with three individuals at the forefront of the conversation.
Censorship Beyond Books: Librarians share experiences of challenges to displays, exhibits, and more
As she compiled data on challenges to library materials for National Library Week last year, Kristin Pekoll, assistant director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), noticed an odd trend: public libraries were nearly tied with school libraries in the frequency of challenges.
People Get Ready: Preparing for Challenges | Censorship
Library leaders, staff, and boards need to be prepared for increasingly sophisticated attacks on readers’ rights
STATES THAT HAVE ENACTED BOOK BAN LAWS: BOOK CENSORSHIP NEWS, AUGUST 26, 2022
As the new school year kicks off — or is already in progress in many places — it’s worth taking a look at the states which have enacted laws that ban books. This guide is not comprehensive, but gives an overview of the legislation currently on the books that will impact how teachers and librarians select and share reading material in classrooms and libraries.