Falvey Memorial Library’s Dig Deeper series explores topics of importance in our society and the news. It connects these subjects with resources available through the Library, so our faculty, students, and staff can explore and learn more, potentially sparking new research and scholarship.

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Banned Books Week runs this year from Oct. 1-Oct. 7. Started in 1982, this week was organized in response to a sudden surge in the amount of books challenged in libraries, bookstores, and schools. This 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.

This year’s theme is “Let Freedom Read.” In fact, the last day of Banned Books Week (Oct. 7) is Let Freedom Read Day, where people are challenged take at least one action to help defend books from censorship. This action can simply be checking out or buying a banned book or donating one to your local library. If you want to do something more active, you could reach out to library administrators, school board members, and elected officials to make your voice heard.

The American Library Association (ALA) rejects censorship, fights for everyone’s right to read, and works to ensure free and easy access to books and information. This organization also keeps track of requested book bans and commonly challenged books. In 2022, the ALA recorded an unprecedented number of 1,269 book ban demands.

Every year, the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the 10 Most Challenged Books. The most recent list contains the thirteen most challenged books of 2022 (thirteen because some books are tied). If you’re interested in reading banned or challenged books, the OIF has an archive of the Top Ten Most Challenged Book Lists, going back to 2001.

The books listed below are from “The Top 13 Most Challenged Books of 2022” that are available at Falvey or through Interlibrary Loan:

• All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• Flamer by Mike Curato
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
• Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
• This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

Rebecca Amrick is a first year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.