Banned Books Week - October 2023 - What's Happening @ LWLC - Research Guides Homepage at Alabama State University

Banned Books Week - Oct 1-7, 2023

Since 1982, Banned Books Week has been an annual awareness campaign to celebrate the freedom to read, draw attention to banned and challenged books, and highlight individuals persecuted for what they publish or read. The American week, through organizations such as American Library Association, highlight the first two. The International week, highlighted by Amnesty International, focuses on the third.

Challenge = attempt to remove or restrict materials based on the objections of a person or group

Ban = removal of the materials

Banned and challenged books are ones considered "inappropriate" or "offensive". The three top reasons, according to the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom, for challenging a book are:

1. Material is considered to be "sexuallty explicit"

2. Material contained "offensive language"

3. Material is "unsuited to any age group"

It should be noted the all sides of the political spectrum engage in challenging and banning books.

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On that note, feel free to read the lists and read the titles that you desire:

10 Classic Books that have been Banned

11 Banned Books Through Time

21 of America's most surprising banned books

100 Most Frequently Challenged Books by Decade

Banned Books That Shaped America

List of Books Banned by Governments

Top 10 Most Famous Banned Books Of All Time

The Ultimate List of Popular Banned Books You Should Read in 2023

Quotes

Some Quotes To Consider:

Brennan, William J., Jr. (Supreme Court Justice - Texas v. Johnson):

If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.

Chomsky, Noam (Linguist, philosopher, political critic):

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Additional Lists of Quotes:

11 Quotes from Authors on Censorship and Banned Books (Buzzfeed.com)

15 Quotes About The Danger of Banning Books (Bustle)

30 Quotes From Banned Books To Celebrate Banned Books Week (Bookglow)

Banned Books - Top 3 Pros and Cons (ProCon.org)

Banned Books Quotes (Goodreads.com)

Censorship Quotations (Bella Online)

Quotes about Censorship (New Mexico State University Library)

The Ultimate List of Popular Banned Books You Should Read in 2023 (Medium)

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Books & E-Books

According to the Alabama Library Association Office of Intellectual freedom, these are the thirteen most frequently challenged books in 2022. There are ten places, but there are ties which leads to more than one title for a place.

Links go to the WorldCat Discovery record. If ASU doesn't have the book, you can click on "Worldwide libraries own this item" so you can see what libraries nearby have copies of the title.