Welcome to Freedom to Read Week! This week we celebrate our freedom to read what we choose free of censorship.

Freedom to Read Week (also called Banned Book Week) is an annual celebration that draws attention to challenges to books and books that have been banned in schools and libraries. Librarians WANT you to have the freedom to make your own choices about the books you read! Books are often challenged or banned for supposed moral or religious reasons, or sometimes just because a single person disagrees with a character or story. Often challenges are brought by a minority, albeit a loud one, who want to control the access of everyone. But librarians believe in your freedom to read whatever you choose.

The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom in more than 20 years of tracking: 4,240 unique book titles were targeted for removal from schools and libraries. (Source)

Learn more about book banning in the United States on the Library's Freedom to Read/Banned Books Week 2024 Virtual Display.