Monday, September 23 doesn't merely mark the first workday of the autumn season. It's also the start of Banned Books Week.

Introduced by the American Library Association in 1982 in response to an influx of efforts to censor books in libraries, bookstores and schools, Banned Books Week "highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community . . . in shared support of the freedom to seek and express ideas," per the movement's website.

Related

This year, Banned Books Week will run from September 22-28 with the theme "Freed Between the Lines." Per the effort's customary tradition, ALA has compiled a list of ten titles from the previous year designated as the most challenged books submitted by teachers and librarians and as reported by media outlets. The majority of those titles — typically flagged by conservative legislators in red states and far-right organizations, such as "Moms for Liberty" — for containing LGBTQ content, representations of BIPOC voices and experiences, alleged sexual explicitness, rape, drugs, profanity and more. In........

© Salon