Each year, the American Library Association (ALA) sets aside the last week of September to create awareness of challenges to library or school materials, attempts of censorship, and banning of materials around the world.
Banned Books Week is an opportunity for librarians in every type of library to encourage intellectual freedom in all capacities.
For more information about Banned Books Week, please see the links on this page, or ask your librarian.
For updates and stories about Banned Books Week
What's the difference between a Challenge and a Ban?
"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. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.
Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection."
(American Library Association)
"To raise awareness of the overly restrictive blocking of legitimate, educational websites and academically useful social networking tools in schools and school libraries, AASL has designated one day during Banned Books Week as Banned Websites Awareness Day. On Wednesday during Banned Books Week, AASL asks school librarians and other educators to promote an awareness of how overly restrictive filtering affects student learning".
