"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." - Walt Disney

Monday, September 23, 2024

2024 Banned Books Week

September 22 is the beginning of "BANNED BOOKS WEEK 2024". It lasts through September 28. Below is a couple of lists of the most frequently challenged books. 

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. Banned Boks Week is an annual event that celebrates the freedom to read and highlights the value of free and open access to information. The theme of this year's event is "freed between the lines".

The Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged books list is compiled by the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and is based on or derived from communities across the United States. To see the ten most frequently banned in 2023, check here.

Ava Duvernay is the Honorary Chair of this year's "BANNED BOOKS WEEK". She is joined by youth honorary chair Julia Garnett. You can learn more about them and activities throughout this week by visiting the banned books week events page here.

You can also view previous lists by year as well at OIF. The list of the most banned books for 2024 will be available in April of 2025. However, some books have been repeatedly banned or challenged throughout history. If you're curious about the most frequently banned books of all time in America, here is a list of the "Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books in American History":

































If you would like more information about banned and challenged books, contact the Office for Intellectual Freedom at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4220, or oif@ala.org. Another god source of information on banned books is the "Libraries and Center for Academic Technology" site by Butler University: https://libguides.butler.edu/c.php?g=34189&p=217684

How about you? How many of these banned books have you read? How do you feel about the idea of banning books in schools and libraries?

1 comment:

Steaph Pual said...

Oh, I love books! I enjoy reading so much that I often lose track of time while collecting different ones, which causes me to miss my exams. That’s why I decided to pay to take my GED exam, and it really helped me.