IN DEPTH ‘‘ Carol Webb is SLG Chair.
Librarians foster curiosity, research and reading by encouraging young people to question books, explore current affairs, consider people’s right to access information, and engage with issues such as human rights, political literacy and democracy.
Banned Books Week
2026
Banned Books Week UK is a celebration of our freedom to read, and this year takes place from 4-10 October. CILIP’s School Libraries Group (SLG) has joined the coalition which includes Index on Censorship, Hay Festival Global, The Bookseller, the International Publishers Association and Firefinch Publishers. SLG Chair Carol Webb explores the campaign and explains why school librarians are taking a stand.
BANNED Books Week UK 2026 is an opportunity to promote books that have been banned or are threatened with a ban by an organisation or government somewhere in the world.
It allows us to communicate clearly that the purpose of a library service is to provide a wide range of information to meet the needs of all in its community and how this is underpinned by our code of ethics. When people see a display about banned books, and the reasons for which they are banned, they are often shocked, surprised and curiosity sometimes leads to borrowing and reading them. CILIP SLG were invited to join Index on Censor- ship’s coalition for Banned Books Week UK 2026 as a result of working closely with them on supporting the Lowry Academy school librarian who was unfairly targeted as a threat to children when she stood up against a censorship ban. This is a growing issue which requires unity of vision, communication and support.
Banned Books Week has always been an oppor- tunity to promote books and this will build on what school libraries already do in the autumn term when they provide a display inspired by the American Library Association’s promotion:
www.ala.org/bbooks/ banned. This is usually available for at least half a term. It provokes a lot of interest from young people who on first glance often think the school library itself is banning these books and forbidding them to be
40 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
read. It makes for a great conversation starter! Most importantly we wanted to reach out to other library sectors to encourage them, if they do not already do so, to provide a display to educate and inform their communities: higher education (some have already been in contact to mention their plans for an autumn term display), public libraries and special libraries. Just as literature and art encom- passes all subjects so do acts of censorship and their impact affect us all.
Such displays open a conversation with our users ena- bling us to underline our role in protecting their rights. SLG will be organising some library focused activity for the week, including:
l Inviting libraries to champion a banned book in a social media relay, on Wednesday 7 October. Authors and publishers will be invited to participate too;
l encouraging libraries to provide a display about banned books, and if they feel able to do so, are invited to post a picture on their social media using the tags provided.
Find out more about how to get involved in the
relay here:
www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/07/banned- books-week-uk-library-relay-campaign. SLG will re-post tagged social media and create a sense of community.
Young minds
School librarians can check this link for activity ideas and promotional materials:
www.indexoncensorship.org/ bannedbooksweek and take the opportunity to raise
August-September 2026
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