“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

This quote from Ray Bradbury perfectly encapsulates the simple violence of controlling what is available for the world to read and consume. Information is for everyone, and censorship is a muzzle on the imagination.

The American Library Association launched Banned Books Week in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of book challenges in libraries, schools, and bookstores. In 2024, the American Library Association documented another year of efforts to censor library materials, continuing an extremist campaign to suppress access to books that began in 2021. Last year, 2,452 unique titles were challenged, the third highest number ever documented by ALA and significantly exceeding the annual average of 273 unique titles over the period from 2001–2020.

Access to information, whether it be government data, statutes, case law, administrative materials, reporting on world events, biographies, or fiction, is a cornerstone of democracy. Exercising your freedom to read stems the roaring tide of censorship.  Thoughtful consideration of the ideas and content of challenged books is nonviolent, purposeful preservation of history, society, and culture.

Here are some opportunities to engage with Banned Books Week:

• Book Clubs and Events at Local Libraries
  • ACLU of Wisconsin Virtual Book Clubs
  • The Authors Guild Banned Books Club
  • Dane County Public Libraries Events
  • ALA Banned Books Week Events
  • Banned Books Celebration with Republic of Letters

 

• Podcasts and Videos
  • In his  Velshi Banned Book Clubpodcast & YouTube series, journalist Ali Velshi is joined each week by a prominent author of banned literature to talk about both the author’s experience of being banned and the podcast’s running theme of why literature is, in itself, an act of resistance.
  • The Banned Books Virtual Read-Out features videos of readers exercising their First Amendment right to read a banned book.
  • Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where co-hosts Dan Schultz and Jennifer Davis read banned books and find out why they were banned in the first place.
  • Brooklyn Public Library's Peabody-nominated series Borrowed and Banned about America's ideological war with its bookshelves. Over ten episodes, you'll hear from students on the frontlines, librarians and teachers whose livelihoods are endangered when they speak up, and writers whose books have become political battleground.
  • Additional lists of podcasts on Banned Books and Book Banning

 

• Reading Lists and Research Guides
  • ASU Library Guide: Banned Books
  • PEN America Banned Books List 2025
  • ALA Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2024, all available through UW-Madison libraries:
    • All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
    • Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
    • The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
    • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
    • Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
    • Looking for Alaska by John Green
    • Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
    • Crank by Ellen Hopkins
    • Sold by Patricia McCormick
    • Flamer by Mike Curato
  • Don’t have a library card for UW or your local library? Check out the Palace Project from the Digital Public Library of America, particularly The Banned Book Club, which allows you to create a digital library card and borrow Banned Books onto your phone, no matter where you are located, for free.

 

• Beyond the Books and this Week
  • ACLU: Incredible Quotes From Books You Might Not Have Known Were Banned
  • Amnesty International: Banned Books Week 2025 Action, spotlighting seven cases that illustrate human rights violations faced by individuals and communities due to their written or spoken words, as well as other forms of artistic expression. This year featured individuals include a media commentator, blogger, poet, photojournalist, and others who have expressed critical viewpoints.
  • UW-Madison Go Big Read: James
    • Although not yet challenged, the source material for James,  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, often appears on lists of challenged books. And the author, Percival Everett, told the BBC he hoped James would be banned “only because I like irritating those people who do not think and read.”

Law Students, consider joining UW Law Faculty and Staff for informal discussions of James in late October.  Contact Student Affairs for more information and visit the Law Library for your free copy of James.

Submitted by Manriquez,Elizabeth on October 8, 2025

This article appears in the categories: Law Library