POV: You Read a Banned Book
You’ve seen banned book lists, book clubs, and reading guides… now what?
By Emily Sayre
The categorization of “banned book xxxx” has become increasingly popular in recent years, and might I say, used as clickbait. But it is no longer enough to just read a banned book . . . not with the severity with which censorship has risen in the United States. In the 2023–2024 school year alone, over 10,000 instances of book banning took place, and over 4,000 unique titles were banned in public schools. Our activism surrounding banned books should no longer stop at just reading the book; we need to start taking action.
This guide will help you find ways in which YOU can help fight against book censorship. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it is a great starting point for those who feel a call to action!
Stay Informed
The number one action item the American Library Association (ALA) recommends is to stay informed. Talk to your local librarians and educators to stay up-to-date with book challenges in your area. Find and subscribe to news publications and outlets reporting on local book bans and nationwide censorship. The Banned Books Week website is a great resource to check frequently.
Attend Library and School Board Meetings
If your local public school or local library has a book being challenged, you can go to the school board or library board meetings to speak against the book ban. Oftentimes, there will be agendas posted online for upcoming meetings—where public comment is allowed—which will give you time to prepare your speech. Each public comment speaker gets about 2-3 minutes of microphone time, so make sure your speech fits within this time frame.
Rachel (@readswithrachel) and Carmen (@tomesandtextiles) are actively and vocally fighting against book censorship in Florida, and they have great examples on their social media pages for you to see what board meetings with public comments look like.
Contact Local Decision-Makers
Emailing, calling, and writing a letter to your local decision-makers will have a huge impact. They were elected into the position by YOU, and they can be elected out. Decision-makers can include:
School and library board members and trustees
Local representatives
State representatives
When reaching out to these decision-makers, ensure that you briefly but clearly express your views and connection to this issue (e.g., as a parent of a child who attends school here). If you are contacting your state representatives, make sure you say that you are their constituent, and include your name, home address, and phone number if asked.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Reaching out to your local media is a great way to spread the work within your community. Check out this “Read a Banned Book” opinion column from the American Library Association that you can edit and adapt for your own local newspaper. Writing a letter to the editor is one of the most effective ways to gain the attention of your elected officials. As you submit your letters, make sure to edit your wording for each submission and space out your submissions. News outlets want to ensure that the content they are publishing, even letters like this, are exclusive to their site.
Report Censorship!
If you hear or know that a book is being challenged in your area, report it to the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). The OIF estimates that only 3–18% of book challenges are reported to their office. Below are a few organizations and their respective submission options that you can use when reporting book censorship:
American Library Association: submit via this form
National Coalition Against Censorship: submit via this form
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: call 1-888-88-CBLDF or 971-266-8212, or email info@cbldf.org
National Council of Teachers of English: submit via this form or by emailing intellectualfreedom@ncte.org
Report censorship at colleges and universities to FIRE at www.thefire.org/resources/submit-a-case/
Whether you read banned books for your personal goals or as part of a banned book club, include some of these action items in your routine to help fight against book censorship. Book banning starts at a local level, and fighting censorship does as well.