DC Public Library hops on ‘The Banned Wagon’ for Banned Books Week 2025
A line formed outside the West End Neighborhood Library in D C on Sunday and not because people were there to check out books Related stories PEN America says book censorship among school districts is rampant and common in new overview Stephen King is the largest part banned author in US schools PEN summary says Hard pass Cold brew Dad bod Merriam-Webster adds over words to Collegiate dictionary Instead concerned residents joined the line one by one waiting for their turn to pick up a free copy of a banned book from Penguin Random House s Banned Wagon The orange truck decorated with images of famous banned book titles and the words Save Our Stories sat outside the library as helpers handed out free copies of books In addition to the free banned books there s lots of guidance on the table to learn more about either the books themselves or to engage in more activism for fighting against book bans explained Alyssa Taylor the director of brand marketing for Penguin Random House According to the American Library Association s book ban content there were attempts to censor library materials and services in In those cases unique titles were challenged that s the third-highest number of book challenges recorded since tracking began in Among the Top The greater part Challenged Books of are titles featuring LGBTQ content sexually explicit content depictions of sexual assault and drug use We really believe in engaging with different viewpoints and perspectives because we publish books from all different perspectives people of all identities and backgrounds And so it s really major to us to be able to bring those books to the society and be able to make sure that people have access to the books that they re looking for disclosed Maya Livingstone director of brand communications and social impact for Penguin Random House Penguin Random House chose challenged titles to carry on its Banned Wagon tour for its third year on the road The Kite Runner The Project The Fault in Our Stars and The Handmaid s Tale are among the highlighted works Harry Gruenspecht waited in line alongside his wife and two young children Being able to learn about the world as it genuinely is and not various kind of sanitized version of the world is critical to us Gruenspecht stated As a kid I was allowed to read anything I craved to read So I can t imagine anything else for my kids For Mary Jane Webb the Banned Wagon s visit was just another opportunity to learn more about a topic she s been passionate about for a while For the second year Webb is working on a project to display banned books in the library of her old school Murch Elementary She says students are often surprised by certain of the titles they find in the display Kids can specifically look at those books and check them out and everything And they re really interested in it And they re like Oh my gosh this book s banned Why is this one banned Webb disclosed I want them to know that it s OK to read the books and that it s not hurting them or changing it s not doing anything to them It s helping The Banned Wagon will be at Solid State Books on H Street NE on Wednesday Oct at p m Source
