September 22-28, 2019 is Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Its purpose is to draw attention to banned books and the issue of censorship. This year’s theme is “Censorship Leaves Us in the Dark” and we should “Keep the Light On.” The top books that were challenged in the previous year are shared by the American Library Association, based on information from media stories and other reports. Top reasons for censoring of the books on the 2018 list include LGBTQIA+ content, sexual references, depicting stereotypes, certain political and religious viewpoints, profanity, and drug use.
Libraries, according to the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom guidelines “are major sources of information for society and they serve as guardians of the public’s access to information.” Luckily for our community, PPL has a wide collection that includes many of the books appearing on the annual banned lists. I encourage you to keep your reading light on late into the night over the next several months and read some challenged books available at PPL.