Banned Books Week runs from October 5 to 11. The American Library Association started holding this annual event in 1982, following an increase in book challenges in libraries, schools, and bookstores.

And — over the last 40 years — attempts to ban books have continued to spike around the country.

ALA’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2024 list illustrates how, in recent years, movements, including pressure groups, as well as elected officials, board members, and administrators, have initiated demands to censor books in school and public libraries.

This year’s theme, “Censorship is So 1984. Read for Your Rights,” references the extreme censorship of an oppressive regime in George Orwell’s cautionary tale, 1984.

“Banned Books Week prompts us all to stand up, " says Barbara Stripling, Banned Books Week Coalition chair, "and defend our First Amendment right to read freely."

She adds, “Censorship is never the path to truth. All of our lives are enriched when our libraries and schools provide the books that allow us to see ourselves, understand others, and discover the world.”

The Library encourages citizens in the Kansas City metro area to act throughout the year.

Here’s how:

• Register to vote.
• Write a letter to legislators.
• Check out (and read!) a banned book.
• Report censorship.

Past Events

Watch video from some of the Library’s past Signature Events.

That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America

School librarian Amanda Jones’ life changed forever after she spoke at a public library board meeting in 2022 in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. She voiced concern about censorship as other librarians across the nation have — more and more in recent years — and a pro-censorship group heard her.

At the Library in 2024, Jones, a veteran educator, discussed the journey of battling that group, how it changed her personal and professional life, and how crucial it is to the health and continuance of a democracy to fight censorship at every turn.

Ban These Books? Let’s Talk

Works from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to Toni Morrison’s Beloved have long faced challenges. In 2022, a panel of veteran librarians from Kansas City-area library systems examined the issue and walked through a range of books targeted for removal or restrictions.

Suggested Reading

We’ve put together a list of some of the most challenged titles since 2014, plus other resources to further your appreciation of the freedom to read.