Our View: It’s Banned Books Week

The First Amendment is under assault. We don’t have to go into the details here; anyone who has paid attention to the national news over the past several weeks can easily cite examples.

 And that’s what makes paying attention to Banned Books Week, which runs through Oct. 11, all the more important this year.

 The printed book has been viewed as subversive since Gutenberg invented movable type. That very first printed Bible was one of the first books banned; common folk being able to read the words of the scripture was seen as a threat to the power of the Church. 

 Today, many are still threatened by the written word and the knowledge, insight and ideas that books represent. In 2024, 2,542 unique book titles were targeted for censorship, according to the American Library Association. The majority of those challenges came from pressure groups and government entities such as school boards. Many of the censorship efforts are directed at schools and school libraries, while others are aimed at public libraries. The range of titles that have been targeted with censorship is astonishing, from “A Clockwork Orange” to “Wicked” and “The Hobbit.” According to Pen America, the most banned author is also the country’s best-selling novelist, Stephen King. Books with LGBQT+ themes are routinely targeted, including graphic novels such as “Gender Queer.” 

 Many of our local libraries have displays this month highlighting banned books. We urge our readers to stop by and take in the breadth of the titles. It may seem like a trivial thing; after all, even if a title is not available in a public or school library, it can still be found on the open market. For now. As we’ve seen with censorship efforts nationally, pressure can be brought to suppress speech and print from the highest levels (see capitulation by various media organizations and attacks on anyone who dared criticize Charlie Kirk) that can reach all the way to your local independent bookstore, elementary school or smartphone. And while everyone has a right to choose what they read — including parents preventing their kids from accessing certain books — no one has a right to tell anyone else what they can read.