Banned Book Week 2023: Let Freedom Read!
W
hat can you do about book banning? More than you may realize. Take at least one action each day to help in the fight against censorship. Peruse the suggestions on the let’s do something about it! list below. Then incorporate these efforts into your day… not just for Banned Book Week, but all year long.
The American Library Association has recorded 695 demands to censor library books and resources between January 1 and August 31, 2023. That’s a 20% increase over the same period in 2022, which saw the most attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago.
These attempted bans include 1,915 unique titles. So, be sure to check books that’ve been challenged out of the library… doing so documents that these works are beneficial to the community. Begin with one of the top 13 most challenged books in 2022. They’re also listed below.[1]
Endnotes:
[1] “Book Ban Data.” American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/book-ban-data
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