Banned Books Week, an annual event from the American Library Association to raise awareness about censorship, starts Monday. It’s an important week for Florida, which leads the nation in challenged books.
A concentrated effort by a few conservative groups across the country has led to a wave of challenged books nationwide, and according to nonprofit organization PEN America‘s 2023 report, nearly 40% of them happened in the Sunshine State. The challenged books were mostly those with any mention of LGBTQ+ people or experiences, Black histories or experiences that might make white students uncomfortable, and any mention of sexuality regardless of the quality of the work.
There has been pushback from parents, publishers and authors, with a number of lawsuits against the state.
Six major book publishers and several prominent authors including John Green, Julia Alvarez and Angie Thomas have sued Florida over “unconstitutional book banning,” and as part of an out-of-court settlement in a different suit, one school district was forced to return some banned books back to library shelves this month.
But challenged and banned books can still be difficult for some students to find.
When is Banned Books Week?
Banned Books Week this year is from Sept. 22-28. It’s usually held during the last week of September. The theme of this year’s event, according to the ALA, is “Freed Between the Lines.”
Any of the challenged or banned books can be bought in local bookstores or online, of course. But for the benefit of families without the means to pick them up, here are some ways to seek out and read the viewpoints and histories that are being removed.
1. Libraries offer a world of reading, including banned books
While local libraries across the country also have seen an increase in book bans, with some even being defunded if librarians refused to capitulate, they are still the best place to go for young readers without pocket money and there’s a much better chance of finding challenged and challenging works to expand your horizons there than in any Florida school.
If you have a valid library card, you also can use library apps such as Libby and Hoopla to borrow books and other media and download them directly to your mobile device.
Some libraries may be holding Banned Book Week events this week, check with your local library to find out.
Banned Book Week:Why you should read these 51 banned books now
2. Online libraries offer banned book access, even if you’re not local
In 2022, the Brooklyn Public Library started offering free online library cards to anyone ages 13-21 anywhere in the U.S., allowing them access to their full ebook libraries and learning databases. Any books on their Books Unbanned List are always available without waiting. Thousands of people have signed up and other online libraries in Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle followed suit.
No Florida libraries have joined in, but you can borrow available ebook and audiobook versions of books that have been banned in your area through The Banned Book Club catalog in the free Palace library app.
3. Online bookstores and catalogs may offer free banned books
Many online bookstores and book depositories have offered free downloads of banned and challenged books.
Working around bans:Black history ‘Underground Railroad’ forms across US after DeSantis, others ban books
4. Get banned books from Little Free Libraries in your neighborhood
You know those little colorful free book boxes around the neighborhood? Some of them may have banned books in them.
In response to the recent surges in book bans in Duval County and across the U.S., the Little Free Library, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding book access through a global network of free book exchange boxes, partnered with a San Francisco-based ad agency to launch The Unbanned Book Club. New, specially branded Little Free Libraries were placed around the Jacksonville area, filled with banned books provided by HarperCollins and Penguin Random House.
Around the country, people who own and maintain Little Free Libraries (called stewards) have been getting around local book bans for years by providing banned books. If you download the free Little Free Libraries app (iOS | Android) and tap Search, you can enter your location, a distance range, and then tap the special indicators for the filter Banned Books. You’ll get a list of locations that are either participating in the program or whose stewards regularly add their own banned books to their mix.
5. Get one mailed to you in Florida for free (you pay postage) from BannedBooksUSA.org
Banned Books USA, in conjunction with Electric Literature, a non-profit organization that promotes inclusivity and accessibility to literature, and Bookshop.org, an online bookseller that financially supports independent bookstores, offers one book from its extensive list of challenged, removed or banned books to any Florida resident for free, you just pay the postage.
One book per person. One dollar for every order will be donated to the Florida Freedom to Read Project, and 10% of the cover price will be donated to support independent bookstores in Florida.
6. Near Gainesville? Get a free banned book from the Banned Wagon
The Banned Wagon from Penguin Random House and its partners is gearing up again to travel the country and hand out free 20 books in nine areas where they’ve been challenged or banned, including Florida.
The Florida stop will be at The Lynx Books in Gainesville on Friday, Oct. 11. You can see the list of available books and the bus stop locations here.
7. Can’t get a banned book? Watch the movie or TV show instead
If you can’t read the book, why not watch it? Many of the best and most-banned books have been made into movies and binge-worthy TV shows such as “13 Reasons Why,” “Handmaids’ Tale,” “The Hate U Give,” “The Diary of Anne Frank” and more.
Here’s a list of TV shows, series or movies based on books removed from school library shelves in Florida.
The Top Ten banned books of 2023
The most frequently challenged books of 2023 in the U.S., according to the ALA, were:
- “Gender Queer,” by Maia Kobabe. Why? LGBTQIA+ content, claims of sexually explicit material
- “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” by George M. Johnson Why? LGBTQIA+ content, claims of sexually explicit material
- “This Book is Gay,” by Juno Dawson Why? LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, claims of sexually explicit material
- “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky Why? Claims of sexually explicit material, LGBTQIA+ content, rape, drugs, profanity
- “Flamer,” by Mike Curato Why? LGBTQIA+ content, claims of sexually explicit material
- “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison Why? Rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) content
- (TIE) “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” by Jesse Andrews Why? Claims of sexually explicit material, profanity
- (TIE) “Tricks,” by Ellen Hopkins Why? Claims of sexually explicit material, drugs, rape, LGBTQIA+ content
- “Let’s Talk About It,” by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan Why? Claims of sexually explicit material, sex education, LGBTQIA+ content
- “Sold,” by Patricia McCormick Why? Claims of sexually explicit material, rape
John Tufts, Indianapolis Star, contributed to this article
This post was originally published on here
