Banned Books Week

The week of September 22-28 is the 30th Annual Banned Books Week! Since 1982, the American Library Association has been celebrating books that challenge our thinking. Join the UI&U Library in celebrating the freedom to read!

Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association

It's part of our 1st amendment right to publish and have access to all types of material--not just the content that everyone agrees with. The decision to decide what material you read is up to YOU, not the government, not the library, not any other institution.

Did you know that this year 426 book challenges were issued across the country? And that's just the challenges that were reported! Like many social injustices, many more incidents of banning occur without ever being reported. Even worse, people may choose to self-censor--not even put the book in a situation where outsiders might complain about it.

Participate in Banned Books Week by reading one of these titles available from your UI&U Library!

Alice Walker's The Color Purple
Voltaire's Candide
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass 
J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye

To explore more, check out the American Library Association's timeline of banned books.