Banned Books Week Reading Marathon!

Every year hundreds of books are formally challenged or actually banned in libraries across America. Titles such as “Fahrenheit 451”, “Bridge to Terebithia”, “A Light In the Attic” and “Sandman” have all been challenged or banned.

The American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) promotes awareness of challenges to library materials and celebrates freedom of speech during Banned Books Week, held during the last week of September every year.

This year, the Alameda Free Library will continue in the tradition of valuing all opinions and speech by hosting a Community Banned Books Reading Marathon at the Main Library, 1550 Oak St. Alameda during Banned Books Week, September 21-27, 2014. Individual or group readers are needed for all the library’s open hours. All members of the community are encouraged to sign up to read out loud at some time during the week. The Library will provide books (both physical and digital) to read from.

For those who want to share the Freedom to Read with the world, ask the Librarian about creating a Virtual Read-Out video to be hosted on the ALA Banned Books YouTube channel.

Community members can sign up to read in person at the Main Library Reference Desk (2nd floor) or by calling 510-747-7713. More information on Banned Books and Banned Books Week can be found at http://www.ala.org/bbooks/.

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