Over the past year, public libraries and schools around the country have faced an unprecedented number of book challenges and bans. Librarians and other free-speech advocates have warned that this practice is a threat to our democracy, specifically our First Amendment and right to free speech. The findings of two, post-pandemic reports from American Library Association and PEN America have alarmed educators, parents, and members of Congress.
Banning books is not new; however, a recent wave of bans have targeted literature that depict characters who, like many young Americans, are people of color or members of the LGBTQIA+ community. This is especially concerning for its exclusion of diverse voices says Johnathan Friedman of PEN America: “We are witnessing the erasure of topics that only recently represented progress toward inclusion.”
It is with these developments in mind that the Harold L. Drimmer Library is kicking off Banned Books Week!
View our Banned Books Week Exhibit in Librarians Row on the Library's 1st Floor during the month of September and stop by the library from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., September 19 to 23, to Make a Banned Books button!
How Can I Get Involved?
Read (or re-read) a Banned Book form the Library's Collection of Banned Books
Watch the American Library Association’s Banned Books Channel
View a weekly-updated list of Banned Books in schools in the United States.
Report a Book Ban to PEN America
Join an online Banned Books Book Club
Check out the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (cbldf.org), a group fighting against censorship of comics and graphic novels
If you know a teen, aged 13-17, encourage them to check out the Brooklyn Public Library’s Books Unbanned for free e-books.
For a summary legislative history and testimony on recent national efforts against book banning, watch a recording of Rep. Jamie Raskin (D, Md.), author Ruby Bridges, teachers and students speaking before Congress about politically motivated book bans on April 7, 2022.
Finally, contact your Congressperson or Representative to express your concern about these threats to freedom of information in your community.
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