Bowdoin Library commemorates Banned Books Week (October 5-11) with a selection of well-loved banned books from the collection, on display on H-L first floor.
Banned Books Week was established in 1982 in response to a sudden increase in attempts to censor books. This year’s theme, “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights,” reminds us that censorship efforts are escalating in the United States, and increasingly come from organized movements.
Each year the Banned Books Week Coalition appoints an Honorary Chair. George Takei, a Civil-Rights activist, author, and actor is Honorary Chair for 2025. He writes, “[o]ur ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’ depends on a public that is informed and empathetic, and books teach us both information and empathy.”