“Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt.”
- Bergen Evans
What right does someone else have to preempt your doubt, to tell you what you should be certain of? Whenever a book is challenged, it is an attempt to influence the conclusions you reach about your world as well as an effort to control how you arrive at those conclusions. Banning materials from public spaces limits the spectrum of available information to that deemed suitable only to a specific worldview. Freedom is the ability to explore information unhindered by opinion- thinking, reading, discussing, and existing on your terms. It is your right, exercise it!
Each year, Banned Books Week reminds us of the crucial role public libraries play in defending our freedom to read. By offering access to a wide range of books and ideas, libraries nurture intellectual freedom and give everyone in the community the opportunity to explore diverse perspectives. This freedom is vital for our democracy, encouraging informed, critical thinking and active civic engagement. Now is the perfect time to celebrate the freedom to read!
Banned Books
In April 2025, the American Library Association released data on book bans in 2024, noting that 2,452 unique book titles were targeted for censorship in 2024. Looking for more book ban data? Read the Book Bans in 2024 data.
Banned Books have been around for a long time! Take a look at some of the books that have had an impact on our staff.
Explore More
Want to learn more about censorship and intellectual freedom? Read more below:
- What exactly is intellectual freedom? According to the ALA, it is "The right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction." Take a deeper dive with this video: ALA Intro to Intellectual Freedom
- You've probably heard about censorship, but what is it, and who censors materials? Watch this video to learn more: ALA Intro to Censorship
- Should adults be able to ban books from schools and libraries? Britannica takes on a Pro/Con list of book bans in this article: Britannica “ProCon” entry on Book Bans
- Want to get into the nitty gritty details? Case Western Reserve Law Review has a 45-page article on the Psychology of Censorship: The Psychology of Censorship
- If it feels like books bans are being talked about more these days, you're not wrong. But, the idea is nothing new. Moral Panics, a “mass social phenomenon in which a perceived social problem is blown out of proportion and transformed in the popular consciousness into an existential threat to the very fabric of society,” have been documented many times in history. Read more here: The Psychology of Book Banning
- Looking for more examples of Moral Panics and Censorship in history? Take look at some of these examples:
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