Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week is an annual campaign that began in 1982, aimed at raising awareness about the censorship of books and celebrating the freedom to read. Initiated by the American Library Association (ALA) in response to increasing concerns over book bans, the week highlights the importance of access to diverse literature, regardless of differing values or beliefs. Traditionally held in the fall, the event not only informs the public about challenges to literary works but also encourages individuals to advocate for their right to read freely.
The phenomenon of banning books has a long history in the United States, often rooted in cultural, political, or religious disagreements. While advocates for Banned Books Week argue that individuals should have the autonomy to choose what they read, opponents may express concerns about the appropriateness of certain content, particularly for children. Recent years have witnessed a rise in organized movements pushing for book bans, predominantly targeting literature that features LGBTQ+ characters, people of color, or themes of race and sexuality.
As awareness of these issues grows, Banned Books Week serves as a critical reminder of the ongoing struggle for intellectual freedom and the diverse perspectives that literature can offer.
On this Page
Banned Books Week
Banned Books Weekwas introduced in 1982 to bring attention to a collection of books that had recently been prohibited to the public. The Association of American Publishers contacted Judith Krug, the director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association (ALA), expressing concerns about a recent banning of books. Krug and the Intellectual Freedom Committee immediately went into action, initiating the first official Banned Books Week. The campaign was meant to be a celebration of the American people’s freedom to read any book individuals wanted regardless of how others felt about it. Banned Books Week is held annually in the fall and is marked by efforts to educate the public about challenges to books.
Brief History
The act of banning books has been around for centuries. The first book ban in North America is attributed to seventeenth-century Puritans. Thomas Morton was an English businessman who journeyed to Massachusetts in 1624 and established a community outside of Plymouth Colony. He was not a Puritan and supported a variety of celebrations at odds with their beliefs. In 1637 he published New English Canaan, a critical analysis of Puritan customs and values. Puritan leaders promptly banned it.
Banning has been used to restrict access to books for hundreds of years and stems from differences in political views, religious ideologies, and cultural expressions. The United States’ literary history is full of attempts to challenge and ban books. Challenging a book is often the first stage in a process that could ultimately lead to banning of a book. A person or group challenges a book or material by attempting to have it removed or restricted from an educational curriculum or a library on the grounds that it goes against their values or beliefs. A book is banned when the school, school district, library, or other organization decides to remove the book or material from the curriculum or library.
The issue was litigated for the first time in the Island Trees School District v. Pico case in 1982. The US Supreme Court ruled that school officials cannot ban books solely based on their content. This First Amendment ruling inspired the American Booksellers Association to set up an exhibit at its trade show demonstrating the importance of the freedom to read and access information. At the entrance to the show, a padlocked metal cage contained hundreds of books. A sign above it cautioned that some people find the books to be dangerous. The attention giving to the issue as a result prompted organizers to reach out to Krug at the ALA to help spread this powerful message. Banned Books Week was instituted only a few weeks after and has been celebrated annually by libraries, schools, book stores, and organizations across the world. Banned Books Week reached an estimated 2.8 billion readers in 2020. According to the ALA, some commonly challenged books include the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, To Kill a Mockingbirdby Harper Lee, Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, and Looking for Alaska by John Green.
Topic Today
Banned Books Week is controversial. The act of challenging or banning a book is often based upon good intentions, for example to protect children from difficult ideas or information. However, deciding whether an idea is inappropriate or offensive is subjective, and while many people celebrate the concept of Banned Books Week, others oppose it. Those who support it push for the right of individuals to make decisions for themselves rather than being told what they can or cannot read. They say challenging or banning a book impinges on an individual’s basic human rights. Those who criticize Banned Books Week’s premise assert that certain books are too conservative, too liberal, suppressive, dangerous, or offensive to be read by students at a given age. They worry that the content of the book will have a negative impact on children’s mental or emotional well-being.
The ALA and the National Coalition Against Censorship have established a formal process for challenging books. Steps include completion of a preliminary challenge form, formation of a committee to address the validity of the form, and an official hearing to decide whether the book should be banned. Some schools have removed books from classrooms or libraries or from the curriculum without following a formal process. An examination of books being challenged or banned offers insight into the practice. Quantitative research shows that books by or about people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities are significantly more likely to be challenged or banned. Opponents of book bans have argued that books by and about marginalized individuals and communities are already statistically underrepresented in published literature, so banning them takes away opportunities for children and students to see themselves or other diverse human experiences in literature.
Over the 2021–2022 school year, a book banning movement of about fifty groups emerged in the United States. The movement was fueled by conservative social and political groups at the local, state, and national level coordinating their efforts to remove titles from libraries and classrooms. By 2022–2023, the most prominent national groups advocating for book bans were Moms for Liberty, Citizens Defending Freedom, and Parents' Rights in Education. The vast majority of the books targeted by these groups featured LGBTQ+ characters, characters of color, topics of race and racism in American history, or sexuality. Experts noted that individuals challenging these books often had not read them. Some of the tactics employed by these groups included swarming school board meetings, making demands to change library rating systems, accusing books and authors of grooming children, and filing criminal complaints against school employees.
The ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom reported a record number of book challenges, in which an individual or group requested the removal or restriction of public school or library materials, in 2023. The organization's preliminary data showed that between January 1 and August 31, 2023, a total of 1,915 unique titles were challenged in 695 attempts to censor library resources—a 20 percent increase over January 1–August 31, 2022. The ALA also stated that 90 percent of book challenges for the January–August reporting periods in 2022 and 2023 involved targeting multiple titles per challenge versus challenging a single title. PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans recorded 3,362 instances of books being banned from public school classrooms and libraries between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. During this period 1,557 unique titles were banned.
Bibliography
“Book Ban Data.” American Library Association, 20 Mar. 2023, www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/book-ban-data. Accessed 1 May 2024.
“Banned Book FAQ.” American Library Association, 25 Oct. 2016, www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/banned-books-qa. Accessed 1 May 2024.
Bush, Ally. “The Little-Known History of Banned Books in the United States.” Reading Partners, 3 Mar. 2021, readingpartners.org/blog/history-banned-books-week/. Accessed 1 May 2024.
“How to Respond to Challenges and Concerns about Library Resources.” American Library Association, 8 Dec. 2016, www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport/respond. Accessed 1 May 2024.
“Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982).” Bill of Rights Institute, billofrightsinstitute.org/e-lessons/island-trees-school-district-v-pico-1982. Accessed 1 May 2024.
Knox, Emily J. M. “Silencing Stories: Challenges to Diverse Books.” The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion, vol. 3, no. 2, 2019, pp. 24–39. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/48645178. Accessed 1 May 2024.
Meehan, Kasey, et al. “Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor.” PEN America, 2023, pen.org/report/book-bans-pressure-to-censor/. Accessed 1 May 2024.
“Missing from the Shelf: Book Challenges and Lack of Diversity in Children’s Literature.” Pen America, 31 Aug. 2016, pp. 1–35, pen.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Missing-From-the-Shelf.pdf. Accessed 1 May 2024.