Free Webinar Paves Way for Successful Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week 2017Banned Books Week is only two weeks away! With many libraries across the country in full preparation mode for the annual celebration of the freedom to read during the week of Sept. 24-30, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and the Public Library Association are teaming up for a webinar to help make the event a success in your community.

The free webinar led by OIF Assistant Director Kristin Pekoll this Wednesday, Sept. 13 will address potential barriers to successful Banned Books Week events, from stale displays to community backlash against controversial materials. Space is limited, so participants need to pre-register here at the PLA website. The one-hour webinar will begin at 2:00 pm ET/11:00 am PT.

Of course, CBLDF offers a wealth of resources for your Banned Books Week celebration! Chief among them is the 2017 Banned Books Week Handbook, available to read online or download for free here. This year’s handbook features a cover by This One Summer co-creator Jillian Tamaki. Inside, you’ll find the scoop about what comics are banned, how to report and fight censorship, programming ideas, and more tips to make a celebration of Banned Books Week in your community! If you prefer to have some print copies of the Handbook available, they can be ordered in bundles here.

In addition to the Handbook, we have many more resources available for download here, including comics-themed posters, handouts, discussion guides and backgrounders for specific frequently banned/challenged comics, and handbooks for starting a manga or comic book club. We’ll be putting up more Banned Books Week resources in the coming weeks, so watch this space!

If you are hosting an event or Banned Books Week display, let us know about it! Register your event with Banned Books Week at http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/events and send an email to betsy.gomez@cbldf.org!

Finally, don’t forget these other upcoming censorship-related events around the country, including CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein giving a lunchtime talk this Friday at the Library of Congress!

Help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work in 2017 by visiting the Rewards Zonemaking a donation, or becoming a member of CBLDF!