Banned Books Week is the national book community's annual celebration of the freedom to read.
The 2024 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 22-28.
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.
The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom "documented 1,247 demands to censor library books and resources in 2023." This represents a 65% increase in comparison to 2022.
According to the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, "a challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials based upon the objections of a person or a group. A banning is the removal of those materials."
The ALA notes that "challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others."
Use these library databases to explore topics on banned books and censorship.
From off campus you'll need to log in using your MJC ID # without the W and your six-digit birthdate.