Events Calendar

Banned Books Week is an annual event from American Library Association celebrating the freedom to read and highlighting the value of free and open access to information. The theme this year is “Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.” Stop by Sherwood  Public Library to browse our display and pick up Freedom to Read swag.

In 2025, the American Library Association (ALA) Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) documented 713 attempts to censor library books and resources. In these cases, 4,235 unique titles were challenged.

OIF shared key trends that emerged from this data. Read more at ALA’s Book Ban Data page.

Public libraries affirm the right and responsibility of parents to guide their children’s library use, and the right of Americans to choose their own reading material.

Learn more:

• Understand the difference between a book challenge and a banned book with this FAQ from ALA.
• Visit Sherwood Public Library during Banned Books Week and exercise your right to read. Look for displays with more information about books that have been banned in other libraries.
• Parents and caregivers, here are some age-appropriate ways to talk about Banned Books Week with children:
  • From Scholastic Books
  • From Common Sense Media
  • Teen voices on banned books, from The New York Times.
• Are you a student researching a report on banned books? The Oregon Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee has made this resource just for you.
• See infographics from ALA about the challenges reported in 2025.
• Read about the 11 most challenged titles from 2025 from across the country.
• Book Résumés detail a book’s significance and educational value and are easy to share with administrators, book review committees, elected officials, and board members.
• Read about how we create our local Sherwood Public Library collection of over 50,000 items for this diverse community in our Collection Development Policy.
• Get involved. Unite Against Books Bans is a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship. Find more ideas from ALA about getting involved here.

Click below for a digital version of ALA’s annual Book Report, covering titles targeted for censorship in 2025.

• The Book Report – 2025

Also, click below for the Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse 2026 Report from the State Library of Oregon, covering challenges for Oregon Libraries over the past year.

• Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse 2026 Report [COMING SOON]