New York City’s public libraries are recognizing Banned Books Week this year with a stacked lineup of programs and events. Running from October 5 through 11, the week-long observance arrives amid a continued rise in book censorship. According to the American Library Association (ALA), 2,452 unique titles were challenged in 2024—almost nine times the annual average of 273 titles from 2001 to 2020.
Challenges to book titles rose 65 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest level ever recorded by the ALA. In 2024, most censorship attempts originated from organized movements, including pressure groups and government entities such as elected officials, school board members, and administrators, who accounted for 72 percent of demands to remove books from schools and libraries.
To promote intellectual freedom and push back against censorship, the city’s public libraries—the New York Public Library (NYPL), Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), and Queens Public Library (QPL)—come together once a year for Banned Books Week, offering many free events across branches in all five boroughs.
Highlights at the NYPL include “¡Zas! Queer Puerto Rican Comics Celebration,” on October 9 from 6 to 8 p.m., offered both online and in-person at the 53rd Street Library. The event celebrates the intersection of Puerto Rican comics and queer identity, featuring author, activist, and educator Sharon Lee De La Cruz—whose work has faced bans—as well as comic creators Ivan Velez, Eliana Falcón-Dvorsk, and Mariela Figueroa. Drag queen and cosplayer Megami will host the program, and in-person attendees can receive book giveaways.
NYPL will also host writing workshops with the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and craft workshops focused on zines and bookmaking, celebrating freedom of expression.
The Nuyorican Poets Cafe events will be held at 67th Street Library and Riverside Library in Manhattan; Stapleton Library in Staten Island; and City Island Library and Soundview Library in the Bronx.
Zine workshops will be held at Yorkville Library and Roosevelt Island Library in Manhattan; Grand Concourse Library and High Bridge Library in the Bronx; and St. George Library in Staten Island.
For younger visitors, the NYPL will also host a virtual teen panel, “Banned Books Week and Beyond,” on October 7 at 4 p.m., featuring teen community organizers discussing the freedom to read, as well as ways in which young people can get involved in their communities and causes they care about.
Brian Bannon, Merryl and James Tisch Director of Branch Libraries and Education at NYPL, issued a statement ahead of Banned Books Week, emphasizing the importance of intellectual freedom.
“I’m proud to announce the Library’s commemoration of Banned Books Week through wide-ranging programming for our patrons across NYC,” Bannon said. “As essential community hubs and repositories of knowledge, libraries have an important role to play in standing against censorship and supporting the open access to information.”
The BPL will welcome actor and activist George Takei to the grand lobby of its Central Library on October 6 at 6:30 p.m. for a free discussion with Librarian Adeeba Rana on the transformative power of books and the rising dangers of censorship. You can register here.
BPL will also host “Banned Books Week Portraits” at its Central Library on October 6 from 6 to 7 p.m., where visitors can pose with an impactful book of their choice as part of the library’s Books Unbanned “Read-In” installation. Other events include screenings of “The Librarians” and “Banned Together,” both highlighting the importance of the freedom to read in the U.S.
QPL will also offer a wide range of events, including art exhibits, arts and crafts workshops, film screenings, and more. Highlighted programs include bookmark and book jacket workshops, banned book jeopardy, and screenings of “Charlotte’s Web.”
Last year, Banned Books Week marked the first time the city’s libraries partnered with the ALA for the “Freedom to Read Day of Action,” in which libraries, bookstores, and readers nationwide hosted rallies and events to stand against book bans and champion the fundamental right to read, as 6sqft previously reported.
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