The D.C. Public Library is celebrating Banned Book Week by promoting a long list of titles frequently subjected to challenges from those who don’t want them made easily available.
“There are forces that are looking to ban books, to censor the types of authors that people should be given access to, to censor ideas,” said Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director of the D.C. Public Library. “Libraries and other First Amendment institutions are really calling this out as a dangerous thing, and it’s getting worse.”
He said there was a 65% increase in the amount of material challenged in 2023. In all, more than 4,200 different titles were subjected to challenge or complaint in what Reyes-Gavilan said was an attempt to censor the material made available for people to read.
“The types of titles that being banned are typically those subjects that are LGBTQIA+ oriented or stories about the Black experience in America,” said Reyes-Gavilan. “You’ve got individuals who are trying to deny this country’s history or rewrite history, and it’s a dangerous proposition.”
This week, the D.C. Public Library is holding a variety of events aimed at discussing the movement to ban more and more books.
“We are saying, ‘Borrow these books,’ because if somebody doesn’t want you to read it, there’s probably something in there worth reading,” said Reyes-Gavilan.
The library system is also displaying and highlighting a number of titles challenged every year.
“These are important authors with important perspectives who can provide valuable lessons to people — especially young people who feel that their voices may not be heard, who may be questioning their own decisions, and they want to read stories of from people who may have experienced things that they are currently experiencing,” he said.
And he argued that every time someone tries to ban a book, it ends up backfiring and leads to even more publicity for a title that otherwise might remain in obscurity.
“When a book is challenged, libraries like D.C. Public Library will go out and promote that book,” said Reyes-Gavilan. “That’s another goal here — to fight the censorship by promoting those titles that are most likely to be censored.”
For a list of titles most frequently challenged, visit the American Library Association’s website.
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