Banned Books Week 2026 Blog
Banned Books Week 2026
Reading lists
Top Banned Books of 2025
Picture Books for Banned Books Week
My Favorite Challenged & Banned Books for Teens
Top Banned Books of 2025
Picture Books for Banned Books Week
My Favorite Challenged & Banned Books for Teens
Banned Books Week Events
Stop by any one of our locations to pick up a Banned Book Week bookmark and various stickers.Â
Since 2021, American Library Association has tracked a sharp spike in censorship attempts in libraries. The ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, the second highest ever documented by ALA. The highest ever documented was 4,240 in 2023. Of the unique titles challenged in 2025, 1,671 (40%) represent the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color. OIF documented 5,668 books banned from libraries (66% of the total challenged) in 2025. An additional 920 books were censored through access restrictions such as relocation or requiring parental permission. This is both the highest number of titles censored in one year and the highest rate of challenges resulting in censorship from 1990–2025.
Stay informed.
If you hear of a challenge at your local library, support your librarian and free and open access to library materials by contacting the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). Stay updated about intellectual freedom by signing up for the free Intellectual Freedom News newsletter, or reading the Journal for Intellectual Freedom and Privacy.
Attend an event.
OPL is offering several free events, along side the American Library Association. ALA's events will feature honorary chairs Ava DuVernay and Julia Garnett, as well as many other bestselling authors. See a schedule of nation wide events on the Banned Books Week calendar.
Show support.
Become a member or volunteer at the Friends of the Oakland Public Library to sustain OPL's work. Write a letter to a favorite banned or challenged author. Take some time to thank a banned or challenged author for their words. Author addresses and Twitter handles can be found on ALA's Dear Banned Author page.
Exercise rights.
Exercise your reading rights. Sign up for a library card and check out a banned book. Join an OPL book club to discuss rebellious reads.
Take action.
On Let Freedom Read Day, ALA is asking everyone to get ready to vote for the freedom to read or to take at least one action to help defend books from censorship and to stand up for those who make them available! Tag your actions with #LetFreedomReadDay and #BannedBooksWeek!