Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Join the fight against attempts to censor books in schools and libraries.
Let Books Be - Protect the Freedom to Read!
The Foundation’s 5th Annual Upscale Pub Crawl celebrating Banned Books Week is October 7, 2026. The theme, as announced by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Banned Books Week Coalition, is: “Let Books Be - Protect the Freedom to Read.
What You Should Know About Recent Book Bans
Books have been challenged for decades, but the scale and source of censorship have changed dramatically. In 2016, 240 titles were challenged in public schools and libraries, mostly by individual parents or small groups. From 2001–2020, the annual average was 273 unique titles challenged. In 2025, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged—nearly matching the 2023 record. Almost 92% of these challenges came from pressure groups, government officials, and decision-makers, up from 72% in 2024. Fewer than 3% came from individual parents.
Over the past four years, a campaign framed as “protecting children” has weakened students’ First Amendment rights and limited authors’ and illustrators’ ability to reach readers. This is not isolated concern—it is an organized effort to suppress voices and ideas. According to EveryLibrary, nearly 23,000 book bans have occurred in public schools nationwide since 2021.
PEN America, another member of the Banned Books Week Coalition, tracked 6,870 book bans during the 2024–2025 school year. These bans occurred across 23 states and 87 public school districts, led by Florida and Texas, affecting the work of 2,308 authors, 243 illustrators, and 38 translators.
Of the titles challenged in 2025, 1,671—39%—center on the experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color. When books are removed because of an author’s identity, a character’s identity, or the ideas within them, communities lose the chance to understand lives different from their own. Stories help us understand who we are, who we can become, and remind us we are not alone. Yet across the country, shelves are being stripped of stories that reflect real people and real experiences.
The ALA and Banned Books Week Coalition believe that a handful of people running organized censorship campaigns should not be allowed to dictate what the rest of us can read. Books are for everyone. Books should be read. Books should be uncensored. Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.