Banned Books Week 2025
October 5 - October 11, 2025

The American Library Association and Banned Books Week Coalition are pleased to announce the theme for Banned Books Week 2025: “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.” Banned Books Week will take place October 5 – 11, 2025.
With the escalation in attempts to ban books in libraries, schools, and bookstores around the country, George Orwell’s cautionary tale "1984" serves a prescient warning about the dangers of censorship. This year’s theme reminds us that the right to read belongs to all of us, that censorship has no place in contemporary society, and that we must defend our rights.
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Featured Events

Pride Storytime featuring Lil Miss Hot Mess
(Banned Books Week Edition)
Tuesday, Oct. 7 | 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. | Denny Sanford Children's Library
Pride Storytime with Lil Miss Hot Mess and a banned book!

Banned Books Week Trivia Night at Ballast Point Brewing Little Italy
Thursday, Oct. 9 | 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. | Ballast Point Brewing Little Italy
Test your banned books knowledge with librarians from the San Diego Public Library.

In The Land of... Feminist Image Group Exhibition
Jun. 22 - Oct. 12 | Open Library hours | Central Library- 1st floor
Through powerful visual narratives, Feminist Image Group (FIG) artists confront the forces of cultural repression and celebrate the freedom to think, create, and speak without fear. This exhibition includes artists' interpretations of the realities of censorship. The compelling and diverse visual narrative reclaims the power of free expression through art.
Featuring works by Jennifer Spencer, Cindy Zimmerman, Susan Osborn, Kathy Nida, Helen Redman, Nanette Newbry, Judith Christensen, Doris Bittar, Judith Parenio, Ruth Wallen, Bridget Rountree, Marty Ornish, Kirsten Aaboe, Momilani Ramstrum and Stacie Birky Greene.
This event is free and open to the public. All are welcome. Together, let’s stand for creative freedom, the right to read, and the power of art to challenge and inspire.
What are Banned Books?
Banning books is fundamentally a form of censorship used to limit the availability/access of a book from a specific group of people or the public. Censorship — the suppression of ideas and information — can occur at any stage or level of publication, distribution, or institutional control. (ALA.org)
This is not an accidental action. Banning a book is a process where first the book must be challenged. Challenging a book is when a person/group/organization attempts to limit or remove the access of a book. According to the ALA (American Library Association), most books are challenged based on a desire to protect children from sexually explicit, offensive language and/or because they are deemed unsuited to any age group. If a governing power agrees with the challenge, they can choose to limit the availability of the book. This could include removing it from school curriculums and/or library shelves.
Thankfully most challenges are unsuccessful, and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection because of committed parents, librarians, community members, teachers and students.
Censorship by the Numbers
The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom gathers information regarding challenges and attempts to censor books and materials in public, school and academic libraries across the United States.
In 2024, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 821 attempts to censor library materials and services. In those cases, 2,452 unique titles were challenged. Last year, ALA tracked 1,247 attempts with 4,240 unique titles challenged. Though the number of reports decreased in 2024, the number of documented attempts to censor books continues to far exceed the numbers prior to 2020.
ALA cites the following factors contributing to the decrease in documented censorship from 2023: underreporting, censorship by exclusion, and legislative restrictions.
View the Censorship by the Numbers slides for more details.
Banned Book Testimonials
San Diego Public Library staff share their favorite banned reads and why.