Banned books week: staff shares experiences regarding reading, teaching challenged texts

In 1982, the first week of October was designated as Banned Books Week. During that year, First Amendment and library activist Judith Krug worked with the Association of American Publishers to bring attention to banned books in America after a surge in the number of challenged works. Since then, every year, libraries, publishers, authors and schools around the country have celebrated the freedom to read. Banned Books Week has brought the book community together — ranging from librarians to teachers to readers — for almost 40 years: It is meant to highlight the value of free and open access to information, past and current attempts to ban books and the harms of censorship. This year’s Banned Books Week will be from Oct. 1-7 with the theme of “Let Freedom Read!”