Censorship Divides Us. Find Your Freedom to Read During Banned Books Week!
Schedule of speakers and presentations [ALL ONLINE]
Thursday, September 30, 2021
The American Library Association’s Banned Books Week is September 26 - October 2, 2021.
Facebook live [link coming soon]
YouTube live [link coming soon]
The University of Toledo Banned Books Coalition Website
Paulette D. Kilmer (Coordinator), UT Communication Department, pkilmer@utnet.utoledo.edu
Arjun Sabharwal, University Libraries, arjun.sabharwal@utoledo.edu
Laura Mitchell (UT Alumna), UT Alumna, lknisel@hotmail.com,
Josie Schreiber (Toledo Love Mobile Children's Library Founder), themomillennial@gmail.com
Sumitra Srinivasan, UT Communication Department, sumitra.srinivasan@utoledo.edu
Saadia Farooq (UT Alumna), saadia@muslimworldtoday.org
This year's hashtag is #UToledoBannedBooks24
The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries. These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. We, as individuals devoted to reading and as librarians and publishers responsible for disseminating ideas, wish to assert the public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read.
Read the complete statement on the ALA Website
The Banned Books Vigil has celebrated the freedom to read books in the public space (schools, libraries, etc.) without having to fear for reprisal, threats, excommunication, or persecution. Alas, the intentions of the vigil are grossly misunderstood and misrepresented where such liberties pose challenges to community values and politics. The First Amendment ensures your freedom to lead and participate in free dialog on easy as well as sensitive topics, and the selection of links below underscores the constitutional freedom to read despite such challenges.