I am a school librarian. My community supports the school library, and students are active library users. At the same time, rhetoric from that legislative session and in the years since have shown me that the public has limited knowledge about how we choose books and select programming to make the library a place students … Continue reading Walk with a Purpose
“There’s a reason [for the lyrics of] ‘Bulls on Parade’ by Rage Against the Machine: ‘They don’t gotta burn the books / They just remove ’em.’ That’s what authoritarian regimes always do. Libraries and books are always the first step, along with picking out marginalized and oppressed communities. We have to point it out … Continue reading Noted and Quoted: Intellectual Freedom
“A core front in the culture wars is: What does it mean to be a full human being under the age of 18?” says Emily Knox, interim dean and professor at the School of Information Sciences at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a board member of the nonprofit National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). “We’re in … Continue reading The Next Generation of Activists
Her efforts drew significant attention, and this past May she received an honorable mention from the Miami Herald Silver Knight Awards, which recognizes local high school seniors for service projects. This summer, she participated in the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Student Advocates for Speech (SAS) Leadership Program, joining a nationwide network of young people fighting … Continue reading Newsmaker: Iris Mogul
Banned Books Week takes place October 5–11. This year’s theme is “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.” 1982 Year that ALA held its first Banned Books Week. 2,452 Total number of unique titles challenged in libraries in in 2024 that were documented by ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. While that number is a … Continue reading By the Numbers: Banned Books Week 2025
I am a school librarian. My community supports the school library, and students are active library users. At the same time, rhetoric from the 2023 legislative session and in the years since have shown me that the public has limited knowledge about how we choose books and select programming to make the library a place … Continue reading Walk with a Purpose
As in recent years, the 2025 report documented censorship in libraries from the previous year. In 2024, ALA recorded 821 attempts to censor library books and other materials across all library types. This is a decrease from the 1,247 attempts that were recorded in 2023 but still the third-highest number since ALA began tracking library … Continue reading ALA Releases State of America’s Libraries 2025 Report
DuVernay’s credits in film and television include Selma, 13th, Queen Sugar, and When They See Us. Two of her films have been inspired by frequently challenged books: 2018’s A Wrinkle in Time, based on the Newbery Medal–winning title by Madeleine L’Engle, and 2023’s Origin, centering on the life of Isabel Wilkerson, author of Caste: The … Continue reading ‘We Have to Work Together’: Action Beyond Banned Books Week
Between January 1 and August 31, 2024, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) tracked 414 attempts to censor library materials and services. In those cases, 1,128 unique titles were challenged. In the same reporting period last year, ALA tracked 695 attempts with 1,915 unique titles challenged. Though the number of reports to date has declined … Continue reading ALA Releases Preliminary Data on 2024 Book Challenges
OIF, which began collecting data about censorship attempts in US libraries in 1990—and started observing Banned Books Week in 1982—was formed in 1967 to provide tangible support to library workers as they sought to uphold the intellectual freedom tenets of the Library Bill of Rights and ALA’s Freedom to Read Statement. As high-profile battles with … Continue reading Censorship throughout the Centuries
September is an exciting time to welcome people into the library as we celebrate Library Card Sign-Up Month and observe Banned Books Week, this year scheduled September 22–28. Since 1982, Banned Books Week has been a critical national program aimed at helping everyone see that all stories belong in libraries. October brings TeenTober literacy and … Continue reading We All Belong
Censorship attempts took center stage again in the 2024 report. The number of unique titles targeted for censorship surged by 65% from 2022 to 2023, reaching the highest levels ever documented by ALA, according to the report. ALA recorded 1,247 attempts to censor materials and services at libraries, schools, and universities in 2023. Of the 4,240 … Continue reading ALA Releases State of America’s Libraries 2024 Report
