Celebrating Intellectual Freedom: Banned Books Week

Join SCARLA and LISSA on Monday October 6, 2025 in a free-flowing discussion & open mic night celebrating the right to intellectual freedom and highlighting the leaders in our communities championing the fight against censorship. Come read an excerpt from your favorite banned book or sit with us in solidarity.

Register here. We also have a padlet, Celebrating Intellectual Freedom, for more info and community submissions!

Censorship is no longer creeping into the fabric of our country; it is steamrolling forward. And many of the loudest pro-censorship voices have positions of power within our communities. The data released during National Library Week 2025 shows that “the majority of book censorship attempts are now originating from organized movements. Pressure groups and government entities that include elected officials, board members, and administrators initiated 72% of demands to censor books in school and public libraries.”

Instead of giving in to these attacks, ALA annually celebrates Banned Book Week, which takes place this year from October 5 – 11. The theme this year is “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.” Here are some ways you can get involved.

SCARLA and LISSA hope you will join us in standing up for our rights.

Date: October 6, 2025
Time: 6 PM – 7:30 PM EST
Location: Zoom – To attend, please register for the event.

Ways you can participate:

• Join the conversation by submitting to the event padlet
• Read an excerpt from a banned book – all kinds of text and languages are welcome!
• Showcase your library’s banned book display
• Share your professional experiences with book challenges
• Tell us how reading a banned book affected your life
• And more!

Want to participate?

• To participate during the live event, please fill out this form. We are accepting a small number of pre-recorded submissions to play during.
• Submit your own additions to the padlet.

We can’t wait to see you there!

For any questions, please reach out to rutgers.scarla@gmail.com