Banned Books Take Over DC
Remember in the before times, at ALA annual conferences when there would be a videographer set up in the conference hall, usually near registration and attendees could record a video of themselves reading their favorite banned or challenged book and it would be posted to the Banned Books Week YouTube channel? This year, we’re taking the banned books OUT of the conference center and into the city.
At this year’s ALA conference, you can show some love for your favorite banned and challenged books by snapping a photo of one of IFRT’S banned book flyers (like this one, featuring All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson) as you explore Washington D.C. We are hoping to see banned books at monuments, restaurants, and museums galore. Meet authors, take a picture (and tag the author!). Attend sessions, take a picture. Swap with friends, visit the ALA lounge for others. Take a PICTURE!
Other banned books (listed below) will have flyers of their own, available in the ALA Lounge:
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
- Fun Home by Allison Bechdel
- This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Front Desk by Kelly Yang
- Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
- Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
- Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
- New Kid by Jerry Kraft
- Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
- Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
- Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
- Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
- Drama by Raina Telgemeier
- Melissa by Alex Gino
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Maus by Art Spiegleman
- In the Dream House by Carman something
- Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Crank by Ellen Hopkins
- Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
- Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Persepeolis by Marjane Sartrapi
- 1984 by George Orwell
Did your favorite banned book not make the list? Don’t worry; here’s a template so you can make your own!
And make sure to tag #BannedbooksDC, #ALAAC22, and @IFRT_ALA (Twitter) or @intellectualfreedomroundtable (Insta). Who knows… you might even win some banned books swag!
The Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) provides a forum for the discussion of activities, programs and problems in intellectual freedom of libraries and librarians; serves as a channel of communications on intellectual freedom matters; promotes a greater opportunity for involvement among the members of the ALA in defense of intellectual freedom; promotes a greater feeling of responsibility in the implementation of ALA policies on intellectual freedom.
Michael Kirby is an Assistant Professor/Reader Services Librarian at Kingsborough Community College. He received his MLS from Queens College, the City University of New York and serves as the 2021-2022 Publications and Communications Chair of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table.
One thought on “Banned Books Take Over DC”
Carmen Maria Machado wrote In the Dream House!