This year marks the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, the national book community’s annual celebration of the freedom to read. To commemorate this milestone anniversary, the Office for Intellectual Freedom is coordinating a “50 State Salute to Banned Books Week.” The “50 State Salute” will form the core of ALA’s participation in this year’s Banned Books Virtual Read-Out and will consist of videos from ALA Chapters proclaiming the importance of the freedom to read. Many ALA Chapters have agreed to participate and we hope that your organization will join us by creating a video. Please note that the “50 State Salute” is for organizational participation only. All individuals wishing to participate in Banned Books Week should check out the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out page for information on ways you can participate. The deadline to submit video for the “50 State Salute” is Friday, September 28, 2012.

Criteria

The “50 State Salute” will consist of short videos (no longer than 5 minutes) that emphasize ways in which each state’s community celebrates the freedom to read during Banned Books Week. Videos can be as simple as a state representative reading a book that was banned/challenged in your state, or reading a book by an author from your state whose works have been banned/challenged. We also accept more elaborate videos demonstrating how a particular community celebrates Banned Books Week. We strongly encourage all participating organizations to be as creative as possible, as long as the video’s message is focused on how your state celebrates the freedom to read during Banned Books Week. For the “50 State Salute,” ALA is seeking:

• Video from an organization, not an individual
• Only one video per organization
• Message in support of the freedom to read
• Video should be no longer than 5 minutes long

For more information on how to submit video, please check out the “50 State Salute” page. For more information on Banned Books Week, please visit www.ala.org/bbooks.