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Banned Books Week

What is Banned Books Week?

Image of a red book covered in yellow caution tape reading "Banned Books Week."Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It spotlights books that have been targeted for removal from libraries and schools and raises awareness about the harms of censorship.

The celebration is spearheaded by the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, which noted 1,597 individual book challenges or removals, most of which were about Black or LGBTQIA+ persons.

You can visit LITS' Banned Book display during the week in the library atrium to browse or borrow a selection of banned books.

Image indicating where books are challenged: 44% in school libraries, 37% public libraries, 18% schools, 1% academic librariesWord cloud listing reasons for book challenges. Large words include sexually explicit, obscene, woke, LGBTQIA, and Critical Race Theory

 

Banned Books of 2021

                      A list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021. The American Library Association tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021, totalling 1,597 individual books. The top 10 are the following. 1: "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe; it was banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images. 2: "Lawn Boy" by Jonathan Evison; banned and challenged for the same reasons. 3: "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson; it was banned and challenged for the same reasons as the prior two. 4: "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Perez; it was banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit. 5: "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas; it was banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda. 6: "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie; it was banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and use of a derogatory term. 7: "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" by Jesse Andrews; it was banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women. 8: "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison; it was banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit. 9: "This Book is Gay" by Juno Dawson; it was banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content. 10: "Beyond Magenta" by Susan Kuklin; it was banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.

Image Credits

All graphics come from the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom. Find them and more shareables here.

MHC Accessibility Barriers Form