Show up and let freedom read!
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
12:00-1:00 PM
Lee and Frank Goldberg Courtyard, Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union
Join other SDSU students, staff, and faculty to show your support for the right to read and to oppose censorship and book bans. Select a favorite banned book and read a short passage aloud. You can sign up ahead of time here or just show to participate. Don't want to read? Come listen, get a bookmark, color banned books coloring pages, and make a button!
In addition, take the Pledge to Let Freedom Read to let your support be counted!
According to the Banned Books Week Coalition (n.d.), "Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. Typically (but not always) held during the last week of September, the annual event highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community — librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas."
According to the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom (2016), the most common reasons for book challenges and bans are:
In recent years, there has been an increase in books being challenged for having LGBTQIA+ content and equity, diversity, and inclusion content.
Resources:
American Library Association. (2016, October 25). Banned book FAQ. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/banned-books-qa
American Library Association. (2023). Banned and challenged books. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/banned
Banned Books Week Coalition. (n.d.). About. https://bannedbooksweek.org/about/
