Banned Books Week is back, and Madisonians are celebrating alongside other librarians, educators, authors, booksellers and readers across the nation from Sept. 22 through Sept. 28.
Launched in 1982 when its founders noticed a rise in attempts at book censorship, the annual campaign aims to highlight the value of free, open access to information in schools, public libraries and other community centers. Special events like lectures, theater performances, donation drives and more mark the week of action. This year’s theme? “Freed Between the Lines.”
In Wisconsin alone, one in four school districts received requests to remove various books between Jan. 1, 2020, and Oct. 13, 2023, a Wisconsin Watch report detailed in July. Their investigative reporters also found 667 instances where a book was actually restricted or removed from a school library after an inquiry during the same time period.
Champions of Banned Books Week in Wisconsin have suggested several different ways to get involved and combat what the American Library Association (ALA) calls “the harms of censorship.” Here’s how to participate in Madison this week.
Read a banned book (and get a discount if it’s purchased at a local bookstore)
Several different organizations track which books get challenged in the U.S. throughout the year, and libraries and bookstores often platform these specific titles during Banned Books Week. Lake City Books (107 N. Hamilton St.), for example, is offering its patrons 10% off books on their Banned Books displays.
Need recommendations? “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe topped both the ALA’s 2023 “Most Challenged” list with 106 challenges and Wisconsin Watch’s list with 47 flags. The graphic novel recounts Kobabe’s adolescence and explores issues of sexuality and gender identity. Like Kobabe’s, the “vast majority” of other flagged titles in the state “dealt with LGBTQ+ themes, gender, sexual development and race,” reported Wisconsin Watch’s Rachel Hale.
Other frequently challenged titles in Wisconsin schools include: “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, “Lawn Boy” by Johnathan Evison, “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas, “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson, “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, “Eleanor and Park” by Rainbow Rowell, “Julian is a Mermaid” by Jessica Love, “George” by Alex Gino, “l8r, g8r” by Lauren Myracle and “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez.
Longer, nationwide lists of banned books can be found on the ALA’s website.
Join a banned book club
Beyond the Page, a Dane County Library service, partnered with several South Central Library System members to facilitate banned book clubs, with meetings stretching into October.
At the Cambridge Community Library, patrons will discuss Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. The Oregon Public Library takes on “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. Later in October, selections include “Drama” by Raina Telgemeier and “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, both at the Stoughton Public Library.
A full schedule of book club meetings throughout the county is available on Beyond the Page’s website.
Hear from librarian and author Amanda Jones
Louisiana librarian Amanda Jones went viral when she spoke out against book censorship at a local public hearing in 2022. Just days after the meeting, she woke up to death threats, attacks and insults from strangers and friends alike.
Since then, Jones has sued her harassers for defamation and become a prominent voice in the movement against censorship. And now, in partnership with the Wisconsin Book Festival, Beyond the Page is hosting Jones at Madison’s Central Library to discuss her new book “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America” on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.
“Part memoir, part manifesto,” as Beyond the Page describes it, Jones’ book recounts her experiences at the center of a vicious moment and “draws the battle lines in the war against equity and inclusion, calling book lovers everywhere to rise in defense of our readers.”
Further information about the event — and other Wisconsin Book Festival events — can be found on WBF’s website. Madison Magazine’s Senior Editor Maggie Ginsburg recently highlighted the full festival line-up, too.
Donate a banned book to a Little Free Library
National Banned Books Week organizers encourage bookworms to share banned books in Little Free Libraries, free book-sharing boxes where anyone may leave or take a book.
Luckily for Madison residents, there are over 400 Little Free Libraries in the city, with the Madison Literacy Project, private citizens and others installing more across the community on a regular basis. Anyone in or around the Madison area can find the nearest Little Free Library to drop off a book with the nonprofit’s Little Free Library World Map.
Alisyn Amant is an editorial intern at Madison Magazine.
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