October 1-7 is Banned Books Week 2023: "Let Freedom Read!"
On Sept. 26, Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey issued a resolution in support of libraries. It was unanimously adopted by the Board.
The resolution stated that Arlington County and Arlington Public Library are an official "book sanctuary."
Chair Dorsey declared, "Arlington County libraries as book sanctuaries, committed to protecting banned and challenged books and the right of the residents of Arlington to read the books they choose without fear of suppression.”
The resolution reaffirmed Arlington Public Library’s commitment to give a voice to people whose identities and stories have traditionally been underrepresented, such as people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community and/or persons with disabilities.
According to Library Director Diane Kresh, “This year’s Banned Books Week comes with great significance due to the increased rise in books being banned in the United States as well as in the state of Virginia.”
From Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, 2023, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom documented challenges to 1,915 unique titles, a 20% increase from the same reporting period in 2022.
2022 saw the highest number of attempted book bans since the ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubled the 729 book challenges reported in 2021.
Banned Books Week (Oct. 1-7) was established in 1982 by the late Judith Krug, then director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom, in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. For more information on this topic, visit ALA’s Banned and Challenged Books website.
How can you help celebrate Banned Books Week and the Freedom to Read?
- Become informed on the topic by consulting resources such as PEN America’s overview of rising school book bans and ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
- Commit to reading at least one challenged book. If you have a child or partner at home, ask them to commit to reading one, too. The family that reads together, thrives together.
- Stream the video recording of the recent Arlington Reads author event with Art Spiegelman (available until October 21) on the Arlington Public Library’s YouTube page.
- Share the Banned Books Week/Book Sanctuary reel on the library’s Instagram channel.
- Join Arlington Public Library for a “Challenged Books Trivia Night” on Oct 5 Quincy Hall Pints & Pizza.
- Read one of the books that have been recently banned or challenged in Virginia.
To put a spotlight on this important national issue, ALA encourages libraries across the country to participate in Banned Books Week: "Let Freedom Read!” to promote free and open access to ideas and information and to defend each person's right to read under the First Amendment.
For more information on Banned Books Week and Arlington as a book sanctuary, visit Arlington Public Library's website.
Discover Arlington's history and browse newspaper content online from 1935 to 1978.
During the past year, Arlington Public Library’s Center for Local History (CLH) has been working with the Library of Virginia (LVA) to make five decades of Arlington research material available online.
Spanning the years from 1935 to 1978, the materials include historic articles, photos, and news clippings from four Arlington newspapers: the Columbia News, the Daily Sun, the Northern Virginia Sun and the Sun.
Previously, these publications were only available in the Center for Local History as microfilm and digital scans, which were not easily searchable.
These newspapers are a fantastic resource for historians, teachers, genealogists and anyone curious about Arlington's past through the eyes of local journalism.
“Delve deeper into your family history, find information on the transformation and growth of Arlington and discover more of its unique history,” said Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh.
The free news archive is 100% keyword searchable by location, date, title and issue and features a clipping feature that allows researchers to save an image or text block of an article.
To access the new source materials, visit the LVA ‘s Virginia Chronicle, which is a large online depository for historic newspapers from across the Commonwealth.
The CLH collects, preserves and shares historical documents that tell the history of Arlington County, its citizens, organizations, businesses and social issues. The CLH operates the Research Room at Central Library and the Community Archives program.
Media Contacts
Anneliesa Alprin
Communications Manager
aalprin@arlingtonva.us
703-228-6329 (o) / 703-843-8658 (c)
Henrik Sundqvist
Communications Officer
nsundqvist@arlingtonva.us
703-228-0590 (o) / 571-970-8608 (c)
Annual Reports
Awards
2021
Penguin Random House Library Award for Innovation
2017
Urban Libraries Council Top Innovator Award
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments - Climate and Energy Leadership Award
Virginia Association of Counties Achievement Award
2015
Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Business Award
2012
Sustainable Libraries Award
2011
Outstanding Public Program Award
Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Innovation Award
Arlington Reads brings authors and readers together to talk about the important topics of our time.
News Archive
Exhibition Pays Tribute to Women in Arlington
March 5 through April 2 at Central Library.
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