Banned Books Read-in at the Rock Island Public Library's Watts-Midtown Branch -- October 6.
Monday, October 6, 5:30 p.m.
Rock Island Public Library Watts-Midtown Branch, 2715 30th Street, Rock Island IL
Held in conjunction with the October 5 through 11 Banned Books Week – a celebration of our collective freedom to read – the Midwest Writing Center's and Rock Island Public Library's annual Banned Books Read-In will take place on October 6, with more than a dozen participants gathering at the library's Watts-Midtown Branch to read from frequently challenged works and unite in the fight against censorship.
The event will also feature a reading by visiting guest Steven Pico; he and four other classmates were the impetus behind the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico, which ultimately concluded that ‘School boards may not remove books from library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books."
Founded by First Amendment and library activist Judith Krug, Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, book stores, and libraries across the country. With its annual awareness campaign promoted by the American Library Association (ALA) and Amnesty International, the event highlights the value of free and open access to information, and was designed to gather the book community – librarians, book sellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types – in shared support of the freedom to seek and express ideas, among them those that some consider unorthodox or unpopular.
By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country.
Last year's 10 most challenged books were: All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson; Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe; The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison; The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky; Tricks by Ellen Hopkins; Looking for Alaska by John Green; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews; Crank by Ellen Hopkins; Sold by Patricia McCormick; and Flamer by Mike Curato. The most common justifications for censorship provided by complainants were false claims of illegal obscenity for minors; inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters or themes; and covering topics of race, racism, equity, and social justice.
Among those participating in this year's Banned Books Read-in are: Shellie Moore Guy (reading from Beloved); local author Kai Parker and their son Joey (Peanut Goes for the Gold!); Beth Nyland (oner of Anthology for Books Bookstore in Geneseo) reading from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Rock Island Public Library director Angela Campbell (Fred Gets Dressed); Adam Peters from Clock, Inc.; Kara Taghon and Brooke Matheis from The Atlas Collective; and Davenport Public Library and Midwest Writing Center board member Beth Paul.
The 2025 Banned Books Read-In will begin at the Rock Island Public Library's Watts-Midtown Branch on October 6 with refreshments and mingling at 5:30 p.m., followed by a short documentary screening at 5:45 p.m., and special guest Steven Pico reading at 6 p.m. Community-member readings will take place from 6:15 p.m. to roughly 7:45 p.m., admission to the event is free, and more information is available by calling (309)732-7330 and visiting MWCQC.org, or calling (309)732-7323 and visiting RockIslandLibrary.com.
