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Banned Books Week 2024: Banned Books Week

Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us. September 22-28

Banned Books Week

Why Banned Books Week?

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.

Banned vs. Challenged

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."

Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2023

Top 10 Most Challenged Books since 2000

Banned Books Week on the Web

Banned Books Week image

Click on the image above for fun stats from American Libraries

Read some banned and challenged books

Click on the image below to find titles in the MJC Library catalog:

    

Articles on Banned Books and Censorship

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.

Interactive Web Resources

Latest news on book banning from Google News

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