NEWS AND UPDATES

Graphic from the Michigan Library Association. Copy about a 2025 state survey which eads: 82% of respondents agree: "We need to protect the ability of young people to have access to books from which they can learn about and understand different perspectives and help them grow into adults who can think for themselves."

Michigan Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Book Bans in New Statewide Survey

September 24, 2025 | Comments Off on Michigan Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Book Bans in New Statewide Survey

The Michigan Library Association recently commissioned a statewide survey on library issues. Results confirmed growing statewide resistance to censorship and a significant increase in support for public libraries.

Censorship is so 1984. Banned Books Week Event Calendar. Add an event or find one near you! BannedBooksWeek.org/events. Read for your rights. Banned Books Week. Oct. 5-11, 2025.

Public School Strong Partnership Will Connect Banned Books Week Events to Advocates Nationwide 

September 19, 2025

Unite Against Book Bans is proud to partner with Public School Strong to connect Banned Books Week events with advocates nationwide. Through a new interactive calendar and map, communities can share, discover, and support local efforts to defend the freedom to read.

Graphic reading "WEBINAR: Storytelling for Advocacy" with Unite Against Book Bans and Everyday Advocacy logos

Educators’ Voices Matter! The Everyday Advocacy Virtual Workshop is Back for Banned Books Week 

September 5, 2025

Join Unite and Everyday Advocacy on October 7 to explore ways to defend diverse books and amplify educators’ and librarians’ voices. Registration is now open for this free, interactive session!

Graphic showing archival photos and documents with the text "Teach Truth on Constitution Day, September 17, 2025, Zinn Education Project"

This Constitution Day: Give Students Tools to Defend the Freedom to Learn

September 2, 2025

As rights are increasingly under attack, we must #TeachTruth about the Constitution: how it was shaped by struggle, how it’s been amended, and how it’s used — and misused — today. Resources from Zinn Education Project can help.

Unite Against Book Bans is a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship.

We are not alone. On both sides of the aisle, large majorities of voters and parents oppose book bans.

%

of voters oppose efforts to remove books from public libraries.

%

of voters oppose efforts to remove books from school libraries.

Full poll results and key findings available via the American Library Association.

And yet, attempts to ban books from libraries continue to rise at an unprecedented level across the country. The American Library Association reported 1,247 attempts to censor library books and resources in 2023, primarily driven by efforts of pressure groups to censor multiple titles at a time in public and school libraries.

Book bans harm communities.

Students cannot access critical information to help them understand themselves and the world around them. Parents lose the opportunity to engage in teachable moments with their kids. And communities lose the opportunity to learn and build mutual understanding.

Although book bans are nothing new, they continue to happen at an alarming and unprecedented rate.

Illustration of a child looking at a gap in a bookshelf

If you believe...

  • Books are tools for understanding complex issues.
  • Young people deserve to see themselves reflected in a library’s books.
  • Parents should not be making decisions for other parents’ children.
  • Individuals should be trusted to make their own decisions about what to read.
  • Limiting young people’s access to books does not protect them from life’s complex and challenging issues.
Smiling Latin teen girl with down syndrome and her mom reading a book at home

Empowered by Reading

There are many important benefits of providing children and youth with a wide variety of developmentally appropriate reading materials - books which reflect their personal life experiences, as well a the experiences, stories, and histories of others in and beyond their communities.

Action Toolkit

Take a stand against book bans. Check out the UABB action toolkit and defend the right to read in your community.

Become a Partner

We can't defeat book bans alone. Unite with us as an organizational partner, and together we'll work to defeat censorship.

Merch Against Book Bans

Show the world that you unite against book bans with our official UABB apparel and totes, available in the ALA Graphics Store. All purchases support the Unite Against Book Bans campaign and our efforts to fight censorship.

This campaign is organized by the American Library Association and was launched with the generous support of the Steve & Loree Potash Family Foundation and the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Help us continue the fight against censorship. Your donation supports our efforts to defend the freedom to read for all Americans.

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