Banned Books Week is happening right now-- October 4-10, 2026. The theme this year is "Protect the Freedom to Read, Let Books Be." You can access the official website here.
Banned Books Week is the one week of the year where all media outlets will be paying attention. There will be a blitz everywhere and your patrons will be hearing and reading about it. They will have questions and most will want to help us in our fight. So, you need to make sure that you know what is going on from the official standpoint.
First, Let Freedom Read Day will be on Saturday, October 10th. From the homepage for that:
The freedom to read is under attack — let’s do something about it!
On October 10, 2026, we’re asking everyone to take at least one action to help defend books from censorship and to stand up for the library staff, educators, writers, publishers, and booksellers who make them available!
Censorship is a national problem that happens at the local level. That means elections matter! The right to read — and democracy — depend on us. While you’re taking action on Let Freedom Read Day, don’t forget to prepare for elections big and small in your community.
Show us how you’re taking action on social media by using the hashtags #LetFreedomReadDay and #BannedBooksWeek!
And don’t forget: Censorship won’t stop just because Banned Books Week does — you can take action any day of the year!
When you go to the homepage, there is much more information. They have options for if you have 5 mins, 15 mins, 30 mins, or an hour or more. It makes it very easy to DO something. At the very least you she be posting about these action steps on your own social media and webpages. But you could also offer a program or space for people to write letters, ask questions, sign up to volunteer, etc... Again see the action steps for ideas.
Banned Books Week is all about action as our Freedom to Read has been under direct attack for five years now and Let Freedom Read Day reflects that. You can also see my post from last year--"How to ACT During Banned Books Week"-- for more action steps.
Second, Look through the Banned Books Week website to educate yourself on the current talking points and issues. There are resources to download as well. Find the downloads and talking points that will work best in your community.
Third, look outside the official Banned Books Week page.
- EveryLibrary is running live author events the entire week. They are free to attend. But they are also offering socks if you make a monthly donation!
- Book Riot suggests you offer a Read-in.
- Book Riot also ALWAYS has coverage of Literary Activism and Censorship at this link.
- The Freedom to Read Foundation is the arm of the ALA that works on this issue all year long.
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