Banned Together: LGBTQ+ History & Banned Books Week

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Celebrate LGBTQ+ history and culture through reading books that have been challenged and/or banned for their LGBTQ-related

Left image: poster Library's logo and the words BANNED TOGETHER over a rainbow, then "Celebrate Banned Book Week October 5-11 & LGBTQ History Month, followed by an image of books with covers in ROYGBIV order and barrbed wire around them, with the words "More Pride. Less Prejudice." in script. Right image: photo of the book "When Aidan Became a Brother" on a wooden shelf.

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This October, Banned Book Week (Oct 5-11), which celebrates the freedom to read and fighting censorship, overlaps with the start of LGBTQ+ History Month. To celebrate our first floor book display will feature a selection of the some of the many book titles that have been challenged over the years primarily due to their LGBTQ content, themes, and/or characters.

It is worth noting that a 2025 report from PEN America, a nonprofit group that advocates for free expression in literature, found that in 2024 there were more than 10,000 attempts in schools/districts to remove books from school, classrooms or curriculums, affecting a total of 4,218 titles. Of those titles, 25% included LGBTQ characters with 28% featured a transgender and/or genderqueer character.

We ask that you celebrate LGBTQ history by stopping by our display and exercising your right to read by reading one of these banned books!