(Artwork above courtesy of the American Library Association)
Banned Book Week is an annual event celebrating the right to read usually held during the last week of September. It’s sponsored by the following organizations:
American Booksellers Association
American Booksellers for Free Expression
American Society of Journalists and Authors
Association of American Publishers
National Coalition Against Censorship
National Council of Teachers of English
National Association of College Stores
It is also endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.
A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict the availability of specified materials. A banning is the removal of materials:
Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.
Read more about who challenges books and why at the ALA FAQ page about banned and challenged books.
Check the American Library Association’s Frequently Challenged Books list for 2014. Some of the titles might surprise you.
You can also see statistics in the form of infographics on the number of challenges by reasons, challenges by initiator, and challenges by institution.
