Banned Books Week is an annual, week-long celebration of the Freedom to Read co-sponsored by national groups like the American Library Association, National Book Foundation, National Coalition Against Censorship, and others; It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, first launched in 1982. The Topsfield Town Library celebrated Banned Books Week by raising awareness of the encroachment of censorship and encouraging concerned patrons to take action.
On October 3rd, the entire staff dressed up in our Wild West best to encourage patrons to be an outlaw…read banned books! Check out our Instagram post designed to raise awareness of Banned Books Week!
We sought to increase awareness in other ways, too. The staff shared some of their biggest pet peeves, and we voted on our four favorites, and made them into stickers to share with the public during Banned Books Week! We also had special bookmarks, a photo-op, a special website logo, and “Wanted” posters of banned books hung around the library. Finally, encouraging concerned patrons to take action, the Friends of the Library sponsored postcards and postage, so patrons could urge their representatives to protect the Freedom to Read!
Fighting for First Amendment rights is a vital part of the library profession. The American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights states:
Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
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