It is Banned Books Week (September 30 – October 6) and the 30th annual celebration of the freedom to read at Galvin Library. This week Galvin joins teachers, librarians, journalists, readers and others to stand together in support of the right to seek, read and express ideas, even when those ideas are considered unusual, unpopular or radical. Banned Books Week (BBW) was started to call attention to the issues and negative effects of censorship in our communities. For this 30th anniversary year, the American Library Association (ALA) created a slideshow, Timeline: 30 Years of Liberating Literature, that features some of the books targeted for restriction or outright removal over the years.

While books continue to be challenged in libraries and schools, we celebrate Banned Books Week because in most cases books have remained available in their communities thanks to the advocacy of community members such as parents, students, teachers, and librarians who are vocal in their support for the right to read. Want to read more about who is challenging and for what reasons? Check out these quick statistics from the ALA or see if you’ve been reading radical, banned books by looking at these lists of the 100 most challenged books from the last two decades:

100 Most Frequently Challenged 1990-1999
100 Most Frequently Challenged 2000-2009

Check out the display on the lower level of Galvin Library featuring banned and challenged books or be a radical reader yourself and check out a banned or challenged title from Galvin Library’s circulating collection or using the I-Share catalog.