Starting in mid September, the library will host a book display of challenged or banned books in the Popular Reading Lounge on the second floor of Library North.The Community is invited to visit the display and learn more about why some titles are banned in libraries across the country.
Date: September 15th - October 15th
Location: Popular Reading Lounge, Second Floor, University Library
The 2025 Banned Books Week theme from the American Library Association is "Censorship is So 1984--Read for Your Rights!" Come celebrate intellectual freedom and your right to read by participating in our Chalk Art exhibit. All students, staff, faculty and community members are invited to come draw their favorite scene from a Banned Book on the floor outside the library. This exhibit will be up all week.
The University Library is inviting the community to document your favorite Banned Book on our Community Mural, located inside the Library North lobby. People are encouraged to describe their feelings regarding censorship and to use the space to reflect on this year's theme.
Date: All Week
Location: Inside the Library
Join Education Librarian Dr Kimberly Franklin for a special panel on the state of censorship within Children's Literature. This intimate panel will feature Dr.Claudia Kouyoumdjian from the Department of Child and Family Studies, Elizabeth Lizama, Child Development undergrad student and future Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS) graduate student, and Luisa Leija, Senior Librarian, Burnett Neighborhood Library, Long Beach Public Library.
Time: 12:15-1:30pm
Location: Community Room (Library North B131)
Banned Books Week: Read-Out!READ OUT BANNED BOOKS! Celebrate our freedom to read by stopping by to read or listen to excerpts from some of the most challenged and banned books in the country. A microphone and speakers will be set up outside the University Library. Email jmasuna@calstatela.edu if you’d like to sign up for a 3-min slot to read from your favorite banned or challenged book.
Time: 11:00am - 3:00pm
Location: Outside the Library
The University Library announces a change for the Banned Books Week Thursday film screening. The planned screening of the documentary Precious Knowledge will no longer take place.
In its place, the Library will present two alternative short films: The Fiery History of Banned Books and How a Book Ban Helped Us Find Our Voice. The Fiery History of Banned Books explores how seemingly innocuous books have survived centuries of the ban hammer made by individual schools, school districts, and libraries in response to the moralistic outrage of some groups. Then, student activists Christina Ellis and Edha Gupta narrate their journeys in successfully reversing a book ban held on diversity education books in their TED Talk How a Book Ban Helped Us Find Our Voice.
Attendees are encouraged to join the discussion following the screening.
Time: 3:00-5:30
Location:Library Community Room (Library North B131)