Banned Books Week, Sept. 18-24

 “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us,” is the theme of this year’s Banned Books Week, Sept. 18 - 24. It is a telling theme as the American Library Association (ALA) reported that there were 681 documented attempts to ban or restrict library resources in schools, universities, and public libraries this year, one of the highest documented reports of challenges in over 20 years.

Banned Books Week began over 40 years ago to spotlight books that were under attack from attempts to censor them in libraries and schools. Librarians, teachers, booksellers, publishers, readers, and journalists rallied in support of free expression, and upheld the ALA’s Bill of Rights. The director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, said “readers, and particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.”

In response to these recent attempts to ban or restrict resources, the University Libraries have a number of events and featured collections to share, inform, and engage with our students and campus community.

We are excited to be collaborating with the School of Humanities and Global Studies over the academic year with a large display in CCC in the lobby outside near Room 101. We have also planned a student contest to read a banned book title and then enter a drawing. And we are planning a campus-wide awareness and discussion around challenged titles, why books are challenged/banned, and what happens when they are. 

For this week, take a moment to learn more about banned books and Banned Books Week:

•    Celebrate Banned Books  https://bannedbooksweek.org
•     Read a banned book! Here are some titles we own in our Featured Collections
•     Check out our current display in CCC 130