Each year, Banned Books Week celebrates the free and open access to information and ideas, including those that some consider unorthodox. In order to highlight the harms of censorship, this year's theme is "Censorship is a dead end. Find your freedom to read!".
“Books can help young people and readers of all ages explore worlds, lives, and experiences beyond their own,” says Nora Pelizzari, Director of Communications for the National Coalition Against Censorship. “This exploration is crucial in learning to think critically and independently and to navigate ourselves through life. Limiting access to ideas hurts everyone, and particularly students. Banned Books Week gives us a chance to champion the diverse ideas books let us explore" (Gomez, 2020).The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling both make the Top 10 Challenged Books of 2019. They are both available from the JCU Library.
Just as many events this year have been banned, cancelled or restricted due to COVID-19, Banned Books Week will be celebrated with virtual rather than physical activities. The American Library Association (ALA) website and Intellectual Freedom Blog have a huge list of ways you can get involved.
In keeping with this year's theme, Sydney Krawiec from Peters Township Public Library has devised a Hogwarts Digital Escape Room. If Harry Potter's not your style, choose another banned book and create your own escape room with Google Forms. You can find examples of banned books on the Banned Books Week website or Facebook page.
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