Banned Book Week Oct 1-7, 2023

ALA announces theme for Banned Books Week

The American Library Association (ALA) has announced the theme for Banned Books Week 2023: “Let Freedom Read!” Banned Books Week will take place October 1 – 7, 2023.

"As we’ve seen throughout National Library Week, as long as there are libraries, Americans’ right to read will not be overcome by censorship,” says Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada. “Our 2023 Banned Books Week theme – ‘Let Freedom Read’ – captures what’s at stake for our democracy: that the safety of our right to speak and think freely is directly in proportion to our right to read. ALA encourages libraries in every context to mark Banned Books Week by inviting other groups within their communities to celebrate and take action to protect our freedom to read all year long."

ALA offers a variety of “Let Freedom Read” downloads and materials, including posters, bookmarks, stickers, and buttons, as well as print-on-demand items such as apparel and drinkware. Evergreen assets without Banned Books Week dates and branding are available to encourage use and community engagement throughout the year.

--As seen in NFLS Nic News Newsletter, May 26, 2023

Banned Books Week Sept 27-Oct 3

Since we've learned to turn on a dime over the last few months, I hope its not too late to share these last minute ideas for celebrating and creating meaning for Banned Books Week. 

This ALSC blog post by Brooke Sheets,  a member of their ALSC Intellectual Freedom Committee,  has some great ideas and resources that you can pull together quickly.

Banned Books and Fear

You know that song about the holiday season being the most wonderful time of the year?  Well, it's wrong . . . the most wonderful time of the year is right now, during Banned Books Week!  I love the community engagement and education that is possible during this time of year, including but not limited to patron queries into why on earth we are celebrating the banning of books!

This year, there have been a number of patrons asking me why the library would celebrate people banning or challenging books, and it has been my enormous pleasure to let them know that we are celebrating the right to read, rather than bans and challenges.  One of my favorite discussion points during Banned Books Week is how banning and challenging books has changed and evolved over time.  I think that THIS Times article does a great job of exploring how the reasons behind calls for bans or censorship have changed and some possible reasons why.  Happy Banned Books Week to all, and to all a good night!

Banned Books Week for Kids and Teens

Banned Books Week is celebrated this year from September 25 to October 1, but recognition of intellectual freedom and the freedom to read and to listen is a year-round commitment.

For insights on reading and listening to challenged books, read this School Library Journal article Hear No Evil co-written by YSS member Sharon Grover, co-author of Listening to Learn: Audiobooks Supporting Literacy. You can also view ALA's lists of Frequently Challenged Young Adult Books and Frequently Challenged Children's Books compiled by Patricia Peters in August 2016, as well as Frequently Challenged Books with Diverse Content.

Be sure to attend this topical session at this year's WLA conference on Thursday, October 27 from 2:45 to 3:30pm:

Meeting the Challenge: Collection Development of Youth Materials

Track: Building Collections/Back to the Book

Megan Schliesman, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC), UW-Madison; Tessa Michaelson Schmidt, Department of Public Instruction, Madison

Should you buy a buzzed-about book if reviews point out serious shortcomings? How do you handle an award-winner that rubs you the wrong way? Are you uncertain after reading blog posts calling out books for racial insensitivity? Do worries about challenges make you hesitate with some titles or topics? This safe and instructive conversation will also explore the essential role intellectual freedom plays in the work you do every day.  Library newbies and veterans welcome.

2016 HUGO Awards

It's that sci-fi time of year again!  The 2016 Hugo Award nominees have been voted on, and the big winners this year are . . . women, particularly women of color!  The ladies took home SEVEN Hugos, an excellent set-up for a Banned Books Week (Sept. 25 - Oct. 1) that is focusing on diversity.  So make some room on the shelves, and check out this year's Hugo Award winners, HERE.

Welcome Banned Book Week

What are you reading today?

First thing this morning, I was in the YA stacks pulling books that I knew were on the ALA Most Challenged List and books that had been challenged in my own library.  I grabbed some of my favorite reads; The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler, Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher, King & King by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland, Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and Luna by Julie Anne Peters. I took a few minutes to page through King & King, smiling at the illustrations, charmed by the writing. I printed out graphics to tape to the shelves. I am hoping to draw the eye of passer byers. (Is that a word?) For shock value I even included Harry Potter and Roald Dahl.

I wanted to make sure I had the right Julie Anne Peters title. I knew many of her books have been challenged but I wanted to verify Luna was on that list. So I was googling it and I found this incredible blog. Burning Desire for Banned Books. I love the tag line. This Blog is Censored! Do Not Read This Blog. Stop. Do Not Keep Reading. And Unwind is a fantastic book. It's not updated regularily. It almost looks like the blog was created for a class project. I hope she/he got an A+. But the content is timeless so that works for me. The author also includes a lot of book trailers which is also a feature I love.

 

If you were going to take a banned book home tonight to read, which delectable title would you choose and why?