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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 “Censorship is so 1984.”

In 2024, the American Library Association (ALA) Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) documented 821 demands to censor library books and resources. In these cases, 2,452 unique titles were challenged  The number of titles targeted for censorship actually decreased in 2024 compared to 2023, when 1,247 demands to censor library books and resources were attempted and 4,240 unique titles were targeted for removal from schools and libraries.

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 2024.
• Read about the 10 most challenged titles from 2024 from across the country.
• New this year from ALA and Unite Against Book Bans, 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 55,000 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.