Banned Books Week 2020: About Banned Books

Banned Books Week began in the 1980's following the landmark 1982 case Island Trees School District vs Pico, which ruled that school officials can't ban books in libraries simply because of their content. The American Booksellers Association (ABA) created a display at their annual convention of challenged books in a padlocked cage, and after the success of the display began the event known as Banned Books Week in partnership with the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom and the National Association of College Stores.

• 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.

Each year the American Library Association lists the Top 10 most challenged books, along with records of frequently challenged books and resources for fighting censorship.

Read more about Banned Books Week 2020 on the UWSP Libraries blog!

Source:

Admin. “Banned Books Week (September 27-October 3, 2020).” Advocacy, Legislation & Issues, 18 June 2020, www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/banned.