Exhibit: ALA and Intellectual Freedom

The ALA Archives is excited to display materials on intellectual freedom at the ALA Annual Conference this year! This exhibit will run from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning by the ALA members lounge, near the exhibit hall. However, we know that not everyone will get a chance to view the exhibit or look at the documents as carefully as they would like. This blog post will give you a chance to enjoy the exhibit materials remotely, and perhaps even see documents that didn’t make it into the case. Click on the images to view the documents closer or to access the full version of the item.

Continue reading “Exhibit: ALA and Intellectual Freedom”

35 Years of Banned Books Week

From Books Challenged or Banned 2014-2015

This year marks the 35th year of Banned Books Week! The week was inspired by the success of the Banned Books Exhibit at the 1982 American Booksellers Association (ABA) convention, which prompted the ABA to work with the American Library Association and the National Association of College Stores for the first Banned Books Week in August of 1982. More information on the founding of Banned Book Week can be found in this previous blog post.

The American Library Association and other Banned Books Week sponsors have continued to provide a number of resources to educate people on books that continue to be banned and challenged in schools and libraries. The American Library Association provides press kits, free image downloads for social media, Q&As, banned and challenged book listings, events, and evening a form for people to use to report challenges. Continue reading “35 Years of Banned Books Week”

Banned Books Week

"Open Your Mind To A Banned Book," 2003.
“Open Your Mind To A Banned Book,” 2003.

This week is the 31st annual Banned Books Week, an event when the American Library Association and numerous other sponsors encourage the reading of banned and challenged books.  The week was first inspired by the success of the Banned Book Exhibit at an American Booksellers Association (ABA) convention in 1982, which featured almost 500 banned and challenged books.[1] Continue reading “Banned Books Week”