Banned Books Week is the national book community’s annual celebration of the freedom to read. Hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the United States draw attention to the dangers of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. The 2012 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from today September 30 through October 6. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982. For more information on Banned Books Week, click here.

Celebrated broadcast journalist and author Bill Moyers addresses book banning and the dangers of censorship in his video “The Bane of Book Banning”, which commemorates the 30th anniversary of Banned Book Week in the United States.

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