Maag Library holds Banned Books Week events

Youngstown State University’s Maag Library will celebrate Banned Books Week, Oct. 2 and 3 through a series of events.

The freedom to read will be celebrated 3:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 2 when Colleen Duchon, Maag Library librarian hosts a discussion on banned books and censorship with Christopher Barzak, published author and English professor at YSU. The event will also include refreshments and a book raffle.

Barzak has published five novels, including “Wonders of the Invisible World” which won the Stonewall Honor Award. In 2021, the novel was among 850 books targeted for a ban by a Texas representative. Duchon will interview Barzak about the challenges of publishing in the face of increasing censorship.

Along with the discussion, the library is holding a scavenger hunt with special prizes Oct. 2 and 3.

Banned Books week, a national event celebrated Oct. 1-7 was created to call attention to the censorship of books in libraries and schools. For more than 40 years, the national event has brought together librarians, teachers, booksellers, publishers, writers, journalists and readers of all types. In 2022, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources, which was the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about library censorship.