In honor of, Banned Books Week, October 1-7, 2023 participate in the Banned Books Challenge during the entire month of October. Complete the challenge by reading four age appropriate banned books and be entered into a prize drawing. Register at the library.
The American Library Association (ALA) has released new preliminary data documenting the continued rise in attempts to censor books and materials in public, school and academic libraries. Between January 1 and August 31, 2023 there were 695 attempts to censor library materials and 1,915 unique documented challenges.
Challenges have increased by 20 percent from 2022 and have marked the highest number of challenges occurred since ALA began compiling this data more than 20 years ago. Most of the challenges were to books written by or about a person of color or a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Want to learn more about this topic or hear stories about the impact challenging and banning books has on individuals and communities? Check out the American Library Association’s State of American’s Libraries Report 2023.
“American Library Association Releases Preliminary Data on 2023 Book Challenges”, American Library Association, September 19, 2023.http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/09/american-library-association-releases-preliminary-data-2023-book-challenges (Accessed October 3, 2023) Document ID: 2a615d27-43c3-4986-99de-2a466a1a6b12
