Banned Books

There are many organizations working to keep books available to readers and fight for freedom of speech first amendment rights.  To find out more or to get involved, here are some places to start:

• The American Library Association website for Banned & Challenged books.
• National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC)
• PEN America - Banned in the USA including a one-year snapshot Index of School Book Bans from July 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.
  • Updated report during Banned Books week 2022: Friedman, Jonathoan and Nadine Farid Johnson. "Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools" PEN America, 19 Sept. 2022, pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books-in-schools/
• Freedom to Read Foundation
• ACLU Free Speech
• First Amendment Center
• ABA - American Booksellers Association support materials for Banned Books week.
• Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF)

Additional Resources:

• Northwestern University has compiled a state-by-state guide to which books are banned where.
• Going to be a teacher?  Members (student membership is $25) of the The National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) can access to their rationales database of hundreds of titles to justify teaching a particular title.  Lesson plans for many titles are also available.