Banned Books Week is a unique method that promotes the freedom to read and throughs light upon the attempts so far to curtail the accessibility of some books in libraries and schools. Here is everything you need to know about Banned Books Week.
The Banned Books Week is a week dedicated to celebrating the freedom to read. It is a week that shows the world how there have been several ways books in schools and libraries have been censored. However, Banned Books Week acts as a ray of hope that encourages free reading and has brought writers, readers, journalists, publishers, and booksellers of all kinds under one roof in the venture to support free reading and writing. As the name suggests, the books featured at the time of Banned Books Week are all the ones that have been subject to target for restriction or removal from schools and libraries. The Banned Books Week throws light on the attempts across the country to curtail free reading and writing and thus highlights before the nation the hazards of censorship.
The situation of censorship
There is great political polarization in the country leading to a great amount of books being banned and not reaching the desks of the readers. In the year 2022, the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom recorded a total of 1,269 demands to censor resources and library books. This is marked as the highest number of book ban attempts since the compilation of data regarding censorship in libraries by the ALA. For the year 2021, the number was 729. When one pays keen attention to the book titles, most of these books were based on or about the persons belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community, or on the Black community or people of color.
When does the Banned Books Week Start?
The Banned Books Week starts on October 1 and ends on October 7, 2023.
Banned Books Week- Theme for 2023
The theme for the Banned Books Week 2023 is “Let Freedom Read”. The theme talks about the importance of free reading. When books are banned, diligent readers who wish to read or perhaps who are required to read certain books get deprived of the opportunity to explore some people, regions, and perspectives through books. However, when an attempt is made to foster the unabashed expression of stories and books, we empower free reading and highlight the power embedded in every book no matter what the theme. Through the Banned Books Week, not one by numerous unheard voices get liberated and gain strength that was once curtailed through censorship. All voices deserve hearing and listening. Through the Banned Books Week, Let freedom read!