ASSOCIATED PRESS Books sit on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta. Although not new, book challenges have surged in public schools since 2020, part of a broader backlash to what kids read and discuss in school.

In turbulent times, books are tools that help people navigate the world around them. Intellectual freedom and access to information uplift people in crisis and during more peaceful times, so the James V. Brown Library invites you to champion the right to read during Banned Books Week, October 1-7.

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. This year’s theme, “Let Freedom Read!” spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. It brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. The week is the most important opportunity during the year for advocates — publishers, booksellers, librarians, educators, journalists, and readers — to explain why we must defend everyone’s right to choose what they want to read and view.

In 2022, the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) tracked 1,269 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services, affecting 2,571 books. This is nearly double the number of challenges reported in 2021 and the highest number of attempted book bans since the American Library Association began compiling data about censorship more than 20 years ago. The office also noted a focus on demands to remove books that addressed racism and racial justice or those that shared the stories of Black, Indigenous, or people of color.

“When we ban books, we’re closing off readers to people, places, and perspectives,” said Amy C. Resh, executive director of the Brown Library. “We support individual parents’ choices concerning their child’s reading and believe that parents should not have those choices dictated by others. Young people need to have access to a variety of books from which they can learn about different perspectives. Despite organized efforts to ban books, libraries remain ready to do what we always have: make knowledge and ideas available so people are free to choose what to read.”

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.

The Top 10 Challenged Books of 2022 were:

1. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

2. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

3. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

4. Flamer by Mike Curato

5. Looking for Alaska by John Green

6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

7. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

8. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

9. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

10. And tied for 10th place:

1. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

2. Crank by Ellen Hopkins

3. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

4. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

To view a list of all banned books, visit https://bannedbooksfinder.com/.

“As long as there are libraries, Americans’ right to read will not be overcome by censorship,” said American Library Association President Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada. “Our 2023 Banned Books Week theme – ‘Let Freedom Read’ – captures what’s at stake for our democracy: that the safety of our right to speak and think freely is directly in proportion to our right to read. ALA encourages libraries in every context to mark Banned Books Week by inviting other groups within their communities to celebrate and take action to protect our freedom to read all year long.”

The James V. Brown Library is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. To place a hold, visit www.jvbrown.edu or call 570-326-0536 during the library’s operating hours. Walk-in passport services are available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.