Banned Books
Levar Burton - Banned Books
Artwork Attribution
Nearly all artwork and infographics are courtesy of the American Library Association, www.ala.org
- Unite Against Book Bans This campaign is organized by the American Library Association, it is a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship.
- Freedom to Read Foundation The Freedom to Read Foundation was established in 1969 as a First Amendment legal defense organization affiliated with the American Library Association. FTRF is a separate corporation from the American Library Association, working close with the ALA.
- OIF Online Challenge Reporting Form Use to report a challenge.
- Banned Books Week The American Library Association Banned Books Week
Definitions
The American Library Association states: "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. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice."
The ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) promotes awareness of challenges to library materials and celebrates freedom of speech during Banned Books Week. This event is observed during the last week of September of each year.
OIF compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted to us by librarians and teachers across the country. For more about books challenged over the last 20 years, as well as information about classic novels that have been challenged and/or banned, please see Frequently Challenged Books.
Source: American Library Association. (2011). Banned & challenged books.
Your Librarian
Every day books are still being challenged and removed from shelves, libraries, classrooms and reading lists. Fight for the Right to Read and read a banned book today.
- Cover to Cover - PEN America 2025 An Analysis of Titles Banned in the 23-24 School Year
- Unite Against Book Bans This campaign is organized by the American Library Association, it is a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship.
- PEN America Book Bans PEN America pushes back against the banning of books and the intolerance, exclusion, and censorship that undergird it.
Ways to fight back
Facing Challenges (how can we respond?):
- Book Résumés Book Résumés help defend books from censorship. They detail each title’s significance and educational value and are easy to share with administrators, book review committees, elected officials, and board members.
- Challenge of Challenges: Challenge Emergency Kit Extinguish a book challenge by assembling the resources listed here.
- Book Challenge Toolkit from CSLA Tools for addressing and fighting book challenges from the California School Library Association
- Responding to Book Challenges for Educators The Free Expression Educators Handbook contains practical tools and advice for managing book challenges and censorship controversies in schools and school libraries. From the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC).
- Defending the Canon: SLJ & NCTE Review 15 Banned Classics ""The biggest issue is that reviews don’t exist saying that Jane Austen’s books have appropriate content for middle school, therefore, according to our collection development policy, we can’t [purchase] it,'"
ALA BBW Graphics 2023 Who
