Resisting Censorship: The Rise of Banned Books and the Importance of Protecting the Freedom to Read and Learn

Recent policies and legislation across the United States have made the reading and teaching of banned books more difficult for classrooms and libraries. In 2021, the American Library Association reported 729 attempts to censor library resources, targeting 1,597 books, the highest number of attempted book bans in more than 20 years. This poses a number of questions that are very important to our community: What accounts for the rise in book challenges? Why is access to diverse books important in our schools and libraries? What effect do these efforts to ban have on our educational systems at the K-12 and university levels?

This year, the UWSP School of Humanities and Global Studies, in collaboration with the UWSP University Libraries, is highlighting the importance of the freedom to read throughout the year with an educational display, a reading challenge contest for students, and we close with this panel discussion.

Please join this free community panel at the Portage County Library.  

To learn more about the impact of book challenges on students’ education, teachers, librarians, and communities, we hope you can join us for this important discussion with our expert panelists:

Panelists:

• John Blakeman, Professor, Political Science Department, UW-Stevens Point
• Mindy King, Libraries Director, UW-Stevens Point
• Nicole Ozanich, Assistant Director and Youth Services, Portage County Public Library
• Katelyn Sabelko, Library Services Manager, Marathon County Public Library
• Rebecca Stephens, Chair & Professor, English Department, UW-Stevens Point

Light refreshments will be served.