Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association, www.ala.org
Banned Books Week celebrates your freedom to read! Held in September, the week brings attention to the freedom of expression and the freedom to be free of censorship. Launched by the American Booksellers Association (ABA), American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, and the National Association of College Stores in 1982, it has become an annual event. You can read more about the history of Banned Books Week at the American Library Association, Office for Intellectual Freedom, Banned Books Week page.
Below are the most challenged books of 2020:
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 156 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2020. Of the 273 books that were targeted, here are the most challenged, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books:
Many of these books are repeat offenders! You can view past top 10 lists on the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom's Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists. For an overview of the problem and the trends in censorship, you can view the top 100 challenged books by decade:
A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.
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