How Did Banned Books Week Start?
In 1967, the ALA founded the Office for Intellectual Freedom, (OIF). The mission of this office is to support intellectual freedom as described in the Library Bill of Rights. This includes challenging censorship and resisting abridgement of free expression and free access to ideas. At that time, there was no celebration of Banned Books Week. In 1982, the American Booksellers Association laid the groundwork for Banned Books Week at their annual convention. Armed with a list and display of nearly 500 banned books or challenged books, they generated interest in fighting reading censorship by creating a Banned Books Week celebration. The first celebration was sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, (ABA), the American Library Association, (ALA), and the National Association of College Stores, (NACS). The displays in bookstores and libraries across the nation raised public awareness of censored books, and reminded people of their right to read any book or publication without inte
