Banned, Challenged and Forbidden Books

The alarm bells have been sounded! During 2022, both nationally and globally, book banning and censorship by schools, libraries and governments has steeply increased, with bans in Texas far exceeding the rest of the nation. Book banning, a form of censorship, occurs when private individuals, government officials, or organizations remove books from libraries, school reading lists, or bookstore shelves because they object to their content, ideas, or themes.

Book bans represents a direct attack on our democratic rights, including our freedom to read. What can you do to actively combat book banning?

To start, please drop by the Library during Banned Books Week (Oct 1-7) to explore the books most frequently challenged in 2022, books banned historically and globally, and reflect and respond to some important questions: 

• Why do you think the American Library Association quantifies and publishes information about banned/censored books? Does sharing statistics help fight censorship?
• What surprised you about this book ban information (global, historical, etc.) that you'd like to know more about? 
• What do you think about the concept of book bans? Do you agree that books should be banned from librarians, schools, etc.?

Ways to particpate: 

Drop by the Library!

OR, participate from off-campus by recording your thoughts here. 

Lastly, here are some additional ideas for activism from the American Library Association (ALA).

For faculty: we encourage you to bring your class to the Library. Please give us a heads up that you are coming by contacting Pia Walawalkar <walawalkars@smccd.edu>.