We’re still censoring books in 2025? Yes, and it means a lot more than taking books off the shelves of libraries and schools. It also means that our constitutionally-guaranteed right to read under the First Amendment is under attack.  

Join School of Information and Library Science, University Libraries, and the Hussman School of Journalism and Media in celebrating our First Amendment rights with a public reading of banned and challenged books on Wednesday, October 8 from 10:30 a.m. to noon on the steps of Manning Hall. Members of the Carolina community will read aloud from their favorite banned or challenged book. Visitors can also make a Banned Books Week button and check out a banned book.   

Banned Books Week, which takes place this year from October 5th through October 11th, was created as a response to censorship and to highlight the necessity of free and open access to information. This year’s theme is “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.” This event is free and open to the public and counts as a CLE credit.