Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. By focusing on efforts to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. Typically (but not always) held during the last week of September, the annual event highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community — librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.
September 1 - 30, 2024
Metro State University and the Dayton’s Bluff branch of the Saint Paul Public Library are bringing awareness to the dangers of censorship with a Banned Books Reading Challenge. Join the challenge and celebrate the free and open access to information valued by our libraries.
September 16, 2024 - October 17. 2024
Visit BANNED in the Gordon Parks Gallery. This exhibition explores current and historical attempts to censor reading material and the voices that they contain.
September 28, 2024 - 3:00 p.m.
Gordon Parks Gallery
Veterans Telling Stories and Warrior Writers Twin Cities present Things I Carried/Things I Carry: A Literary Reading of Veteran Writers. Readers include Joel Turnipseed, Jessi Atherton, and Paul Van Dyke.
September 1 - 30, 2024
Add the banned and challenged books you read to the interactive display on the first floor of the Library and Learning Center