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Banned Books Week Is September 22 - 28

Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week is the national book community's annual celebration of the freedom to read. 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 2024 celebration of Banned Books Week is the week of September 22-28. 

Facts about Banned Books

• 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.
• Preliminary data show that between January 1 and August 31, 2024, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 414 attempts to censor library materials and services. In those cases, 1,128 unique titles were challenged. 
• Pressure groups in 2023 focused on public libraries in addition to targeting school libraries. The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% over the previous year; school libraries saw an 11% increase.

Learn More about Banned Books Week

To find out the Top 10 Most Challenged Titles, sources of the challenges, venues where challenges occur, and more, please visit our Banned Books Week 2024 guide.