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Commemorate Banned Books Week with the San Diego Public Library! Throughout the week, library staff at the Central Library and Branches will highlight the recent wave of book challenges and outright bans of books in the United States—from children’s picture books to classics to award-winning literature. The Central Library and Branch locations will present live Banned Books Week events, show movies of banned books that have been adapted for the screen, and feature displays of books, media, and more that have been challenged or banned.
Join us for the 11th Annual Read-a-Thon on Monday, September 19th @ 4:00 p.m. at the Central Library, live for the first time since 2019!
"Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and spotlighting current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. For 40 years, the annual event has brought together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship."
Stand up, speak out, learn more, and celebrate your freedom to read!
Events
Virtual Banned Books Week Raffle
September 18 – 24 | Online
Visit our Facebook page and tell us about your favorite banned book to be entered for a chance to win a Banned Book Mug! One entry per person. Entries accepted until midnight on September 24th. Two winners will be selected from a random drawing and announced on Monday, September 26th.
Molly's Soliloquy: A Banned Books Reading & Performance
September 18 – 24 | Online
In 1921, James Joyce's great modernist novel Ulysses was banned in the United States for sexually suggestive content including the book’s controversial last chapter featuring the sexually assertive character, Molly Bloom. Listen to a reading of Molly’s Soliloquy HERE or read full text HERE.
11th Annual Banned Books Week Read-a-thon
Monday, September 19 | 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. | San Diego Central Library, Neil Morgan Auditorium
Commemorate Banned Books Week (September 18 - 24) with San Diego Public Library’s 11th Annual Read-a-Thon! A new book and a new reader every 10 - 15 minutes. Join us for an entertaining yet bittersweet good time of forbidden knowledge in books censored in the country.
Picture This: Carrie (A Banned Books to movie screening)
Monday, September 19 | 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. | San Diego Central Library, Neil Morgan Auditorium
Did you know that Stephen King's horror novel Carrie is a commonly censored book?
Synopsis: A shy teenager, dominated by a religiously fanatic mother, suffers at the hands of high-school bullies, whose mean pranks rile the teen into discovering she has telekinetic powers, which she uses to take ultimate revenge at the prom.
Rated R | 97 minutes | 1976 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. | Directed by Brian De Palma | Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta, Amy Irving, & William Katt
Banned Book Bingo
Tuesday, September 20 | 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. | San Diego Central Library, Mary Hollis Clark Conference Center
Win prizes while learning about controversial books! Join the San Diego Public Library on September 20th at 6:30 p.m. in the Mary Hollis Clark Meeting Room to play some Banned Book Bingo. Space is limited, please register here.
Picture This: Of Mice and Men (A Banned Books to movie screening)
Tuesday, September 20 | 4:00 - 5:45 p.m. | Pacific Beach/Taylor Branch
Gary Sinise & John Malkovich star in this adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic.
Rated PG-13 | 111 min | 1992
Banned Books Week-themed Storytime
Wednesday, September 21 | 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. | Ocean Beach Branch
Get ready for storytime fun! Little ones and their caregivers are invited to enjoy stories, songs, rhymes, and more every Wednesday. This week’s theme will be Banned Books Week!
Picture This: The Hate U Give (A Banned Books to movie screening)
Friday, September 23 | 3:30 - 5:45 p.m. | Pacific Beach/Taylor Branch
Amandla Stenberg stars in this adaptation of Angie Thomas’s Young Adult novel.
Rated PG-13 | 129 min | 2019
Displays
CAUTION! Branches throughout the City will feature informative displays for Banned Books Week. Pick up a free bookmark, browse the displays, and yes, you can definitely check out these books!
- Carmel Mountain Ranch
- Carmel Valley
- Central Library
- City Heights/Weingart Library
- College-Rolando
- Kensington-Normal Heights
- La Jolla/Riford
- Mission Valley
- North Park Library
- North University Community Library
- Oak Park Library
- Pacific Beach/Taylor Library
- Point Loma/Hervey Library
- Rancho Bernardo
- University Community Library
Listener's Advisory: The San Diego Public Library Podcast
Season 1, Episode 10: Banned Books Week and Our Favorite Banned Books
Listen to the episode here.
Resources
Discover Banned Books Week facts, check out virtual author events, and much more from the American Library Association:
“This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.”
- Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom