This guide is based on A Decade of Banned Books LibGuide originally created by Kyle Crossan, a graduate student at Drexel's College of Computing & Informatics and a future librarian, in 2021. Updates, changes, and additions were made in Fall 2022 by IRSC Libraries.
IRSC Libraries DOES NOT ban books. This guide is part of our Banned Books Week initiative celebrating the freedom to read. We believe in the value of diverse points of view and the representation of different voices. View our statement on the right to read.
The following is from the American Libraries Magazine article 50 Years of Intellectual Freedom, written by OIF staff celebrating the office’s anniversary.
Banned Books Week was launched in the 1980s, a time of increased challenges, organized protests, and the Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) Supreme Court case, which ruled that school officials can’t ban books in libraries simply because of their content.
Banned books were showcased at the 1982 American Booksellers Association (ABA) BookExpo America trade show in Anaheim, California. At the entrance to the convention center towered large, padlocked metal cages, with some 500 challenged books stacked inside and a large overhead sign cautioning that some people considered these books dangerous.
Drawing on the success of the exhibit, ABA invited OIF Director Judith Krug to join a new initiative called Banned Books Week, along with the National Association of College Stores. The three organizations scrambled to put something together by the September show date and ended up distributing a news release and a publicity kit, hoping that with their combined membership of 50,000 people, they could continue to spark a conversation about banned books.
The initiative took off. Institutions and stores hosted read-outs, and window displays morphed into literary graveyards or mysterious collections of brown-bagged books. Major news outlets such as PBS and the New York Times covered the event, and mayors and governors issued proclamations affirming the week.
ALA is currently part of a national coalition to promote Banned Books Week, along with 14 other contributors and sponsors. Krug led the Banned Books Week efforts as OIF director until her unexpected death in 2009. Her legacy lives on in the Freedom to Read Foundation’s Judith F. Krug Memorial Fund, a grant awarded to nonprofits to host Banned Books Week events.
Today, Banned Books Week coverage by mainstream media reaches an estimated 2.8 billion readers, and more than 90,000 publishing industry and library subscribers. The Banned Books page remains one of the top two most popular pages on the ALA website.
From: Banned & Challenged Books: A Website of the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom
For more information on banned books, please check out the ALA's Banned Book FAQ.
Post a photo of yourself with a banned book or in front of a library Banned Books Week display. Tag the photo with #IReadBannedBooks and @IRSCLibraries on social media to win a limited edition Banned Books Week notebook or book cover trading cards. Contact library@irsc.edu for more information and to pick up your prize.
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