Banned Books
Levar Burton - Banned Books
Artwork Attribution
Nearly all artwork and infographics are courtesy of the American Library Association, www.ala.org
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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.
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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.
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OIF Online Challenge Reporting Form Use to report a challenge.
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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
Banned and Challenged Books
Every day books are still being challenged and removed from shelves, libraries, classrooms and reading lists. Protect your First Amendment Rights. Fight for the Right to Read and read a banned book today.
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Cover to Cover - PEN America 2025 An Analysis of Titles Banned in the 23-24 School Year
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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.
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PEN America Book Bans PEN America pushes back against the banning of books and the intolerance, exclusion, and censorship that undergird it.
First Amendment Rights
The First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Why Book Banning is Harmful
Book Banning Is Censorship
The most obvious reason why book banning is bad is that it is a form of censorship, the suppression of ideas or information. The First Amendment protects citizens against censorship by the government.
Book Banning Threatens Democracy
Democracy requires educated members of society who can think for themselves to elect leaders who reflect their vaules. Limiting the information available, especially only allowing any specific ideology, goes against the very principles the U.S. was founded upon. Throughout history, censorship has always been one of the first steps to rising authoritarian and tyrannist regimes, where one group or set of ideas is used to oppress all others.
Book Banning Stagnates Society
In an age where much of our infomation comes to us through "bubbles" that confirm any biases we might have, books can help expose us to ideas we might not otherwise come across in our personal feeds or biased news sources. LImiting ourselves to one view willl harm us in an ever-changing global society.
Book Banning Further Isolates Marginalized Populations
The U.S. is a country where people of diverse beliefs and backgrounds have come together, yet the stories presented by books and movies are often way less diverse than the populations we see around us. As a result, people with different lived experiences can feel outcast and alone. A lack of diverse people, places, and experiences harms those who are missing from the narrative as well as those who aren't exposed to other stories. Representation matters!
Research has shown that teens exposed to sex education have lower instances of teen pregnancy. Queer teens are less likely to attempt suicide if they are exposed to LGBTQ+ representation in books and media. Hate crimes against racial and religious groups are lower when people have greater exposure to positive messages about other cultures. Inclusive curricula leads to better academic performance and better health and wellbeing for students of many backgrounds,
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Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor From PEN America
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Teaching about Racism Is Essential for Education From Scientific American
Ways to fight back
Facing Challenges (how can we respond?):
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A Letter to & for Educators from Rex Ogle A letter from an author in defense of teaching his book, Free Lunch.
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Responding to the Most Common Arguments for Book Censorship from The Freedom to Read Project
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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.
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Challenge of Challenges: Challenge Emergency Kit Extinguish a book challenge by assembling the resources listed here.
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Book Challenge Toolkit from CSLA Tools for addressing and fighting book challenges from the California School Library Association
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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).
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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,'"
Frequently Challenged Books Links
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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.
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OIF Online Challenge Reporting Form Use to report a challenge.
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Banned Books Week The American Library Association Banned Books Week
ALA Banned Books 2025
