LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It’s Banned Books Week and Lexington Public Library has been promoting this year's national theme, "Let Freedom Read." Banned Books Week started in 1982 after there was an increase in the number of books and materials being challenged in libraries, bookstores, and schools.
LPL’s Kate Baughman explains, "So Banned Books Week is put on by the American Library Association every year. It’s an annual campaign that celebrates the freedom to read, and historical and present attempts at censorship."
The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom tracks books and materials that are asked to be banned or restricted. In 2022, the OIF reported 1,269 attempts to censor library books and resources and more than 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship. This year, a preliminary report looking at January through August shows 695 attempts to censor library materials and services and 1,915 unique titles.
"If you look at the list of banned books, a lot of reasons why people are challenging books are due to sexual content, race, religion,” says Baughman. “Those are the three you most often see with this list. But historically, you can look back and see, like when Harry Potter was coming out, a lot of it was about the occult and religion and it really just depends on what is going on in the cultural zeitgeist right now, and you can see how that changes over the years."
Lexington Public Library says it wants to celebrate these books and others — because they believe it's important to offer a wide variety of literature for the community.
Baughman says, "We, at the library, think that free and open access to information is super important and so we stand for the freedom to read and that's because we want our collection to look like our community. We have a vibrant diverse community, and we want to make sure everyone is seen in our collection and can find something here."
The library believes that it's important for people to challenge their own views and ideas by exposing themselves to a variety of literature.
"When you see something different that you never considered before, you open your world to a whole new idea. You can learn something about yourself, about your community, about someone near you -- and I think that's a really powerful thing,” says Baughman.
