"Between January 1 and August 31, 2023, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) reported 695 attempts to censor library materials and services and documented challenges to 1,915 unique titles.* The number of unique titles challenged has increased by 20 percent from the same reporting period in 2022, the year in which the highest number of book 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" (Source).
In Illinois we will have legislation that blocks book banning in our state going into effect January 1, 2024 (source). Meanwhile, other states have no such protections for their libraries. There has been outcry about protecting the freedom to read in response to the increased number of politically motivated book challenges, with polls showing Americans are predominantly against book bans (source). One example is Barack Obama's letter addressed to America’s librarians (source). This banned books week we encourage our community to celebrate intellectual freedom and take action where possible to support the anti-censorship movement. Unite Against Banned Books has an action toolkit anyone can use to amplify the movement and join the conversation.
.What is Banned Books Week?.
"Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.(From the Banned Books Week About page.)
.What is a Banned or Challenged Book?.
According to the American Library Association (ALA), "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." (From the ALA Banned Books Week page.)
.Learn More.
From The Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) of the ALA:
Frequently Challenged Books List | Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists | Intellectual Freedom Blog
.Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021.
ALA documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago.
From the OIF's Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists - see that page for reasons why they were banned or challenged.
Gender Queer by 
All Boys Aren't Blue by 
The Bluest Eye by 
Flamer by
I know I'm not gay. Gay boys like other boys. I hate boys. They're mean, and scary, and they're always destroying something or saying something dumb or both.I hate that word. Gay. It makes me feel . . . unsafe.It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going through changes--but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.Award-winning author and artist Mike Curato draws on his own experiences in this debut graphic novel, telling a difficult story with humor, compassion, and love.
Looking for Alaska by
The award-winning, genre-defining debut from John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and The Fault in Our Stars Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award * A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist * A New York Times Bestseller * A USA Today Bestseller * NPR's Top Ten Best-Ever Teen Novels * TIME magazine's 100 Best Young Adult Novels of All Time * A PBS Great American Read Selection * Millions of copies sold! First drink. First prank. First friend. First love. Last words. Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words--and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet François Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young, who will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps. Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A modern classic, this stunning debut marked #1 bestselling author John Green's arrival as a groundbreaking new voice in contemporary fiction. Newly updated edition includes a brand-new Readers' Guide featuring a Q&A with author John Green
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by 
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by 
A Court of Mist and Fury by 
Crank by
The #1 New York Times bestselling tale of addiction--the first in the Crank trilogy--from master poet Ellen Hopkins. Life was good before I met the monster. After, life was great, At least for a little while. Kristina Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. Then, Kristina meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul--her life.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by .Other Banned + Challenged Books Since 2010.
A selection of other banned or challenged books in the Flaxman Collection from the OIF's Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists - see that page for reasons why they were banned or challenged.
Beyond Magenta by 
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by 
To Kill a Mockingbird by 
Of Mice and Men by 
The Handmaid's Tale by 
This One Summer by 
Make Something Up by 
Fun Home by 
Habibi by 
Persepolis by 
The Hunger Games by 
Bone by 
Beloved by 
Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited by 
Revolutionary Voices by .Other Banned + Challenged Books 2000-2009.
A selection of other banned or challenged books in the Flaxman Collection from the OIF's Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by 
His Dark Materials: the Golden Compass (Book 1) by 
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by 
The Color Purple by 
The Catcher in the Rye by 
The Things They Carried by 
Always Running by 
Fahrenheit 451 by 
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by 
