Banned Books Week 2021, the annual celebration of the freedom read will be held September 26 to October 2.
The 2021 theme, “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” The Banned Books Week Coalition is proud to announce that Jason Reynolds has been named the inaugural Honorary Chair for Banned Books Week 2021.
By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in most cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of booksellers, librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read. Join the library’s celebration by stopping in during this week to check out challenged and previously banned books and celebrate the freedom to read.
Click the links below to learn about intellectual freedom and banned or frequently challenged books.
Banned and challenged classics
Top 10 most challenged books list
Most frequently challenged authors of the 21 st century
Public libraries and intellectual freedom
Books from the library’s catalog on censorship
American Library Association and the First Amendment and Censorship