Celebrate Banned Books Week

by Brooke King, Middle School Librarian in Humble ISD, TxASLTalks Editorial Board

Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association

Banned Books Week is quickly approaching. This year it is September 24-30. Banned Books Week is the perfect time to show how your library advocates against censorship, promotes free access to information, and celebrates the student’s Right to Read.

According to the American Library Association’s Banned & Challenged Books site, a challenge is “an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.” While a banning is “the removal of those materials.” Because challenges try to restrict the access to others, they are a threat to the freedom of speech and choice. (ALA, 2017).

Although I have always thrown together a display to highlight Banned Books Week, this year I really wanted to promote the week more. I decided to use my PLN (personal learning network) to cull some ideas. I hope you find these ideas as inspiring as I did and perhaps can find a way to incorporate them in your library.

Banned Books Week FlipGrid

FlipGrid is one of my new favorite tech tools. If you are not familiar with FlipGrid, it is an app/website where students can record short video responses and view others’ responses about a certain topic or question. I am finding so many uses for it in the library, but I particularly liked Janice Conger’s idea of creating a FlipGrid to celebrate Banned Books Week. She created a station where students can browse through books that have been challenged. She then asks the students to respond to these questions using the FlipGrid app: Which Book most surprised you? Which will/did you read? How will you celebrate your RIGHT TO READ?

I Read Banned Books Snapchat Geofilter

So I’m not on the Snapchat wagon yet in my library, but I do use other forms of social media with students. I think students will really love Charles Scadina’s idea of creating a Snapchat Geofilter to impose over his students and faculty’s pictures. A Snapchat Geofilter is just an overlay for your Snap. You can learn how to create your own Snapchat Geofilter. I think I may try some of the other apps out there to create my own overlays for many different events.

Rebel Reader Twittter Tournament

The American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom invites you to join their Rebel Reader Twitter Tournament to complete actions for the chance to win literary prizes. During Banned Books Week, tweet from the list of challenges using the #RebelReader hashtag. Challenges range from taking a selfie with a banned or challenged book to tweeting “some love” to an author on their Banned Author Twitter List.

Banned Books Trading Cards

This idea comes from the Chapel Hill Public Library. They invite local artists to create small works of art inspired by a banned/challenged book or author. The artwork is judged and seven winners are chosen. These seven pieces of art are turned into trading cards with the artwork on the front of the card and the artist’s statement and information about the highlighted book on the back. All entries are displayed in the library, and the winning entries are printed as trading cards and distributed to patrons. You can even purchase the trading cards to help support the Chapel Hill Public Library.

Additional resources about/celebrating Banned Books Week

While I was searching for ideas, I came across several videos and resources you may want to view yourself or share with students:

ALA’s Top Ten Challenged Books of 2016 (ALA, 2017)

Germany’s “Parthenon” of Banned Books (The Kid Should See This, 2017)

Banning Books in the 21st Century (Rocketboom, 2013)

ReadWriteThink Lesson on Banned Books (ILA/NCTE, 2017)

I also pinned some display ideas from Pinterest that have inspired me to create a better display this year in my own library.

I hope one or more of these ideas will be useful to you as you plan to celebrate Banned Books Week. I would love to know your ideas for the week. Please share in the comments.