Generations have enjoyed classic novels like Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mocking Bird and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and emerging favorites like J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series will continue to entertain children and adults for years to come.

The public accessibility of these books is in thanks to the countless efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers and book consumers. Banned Books Week, a celebration of intellectual freedom, will be held this year from September 24th to October 1st.

BBW was created in 1982 and is the only nationally observed call to reading in the United States. The precedence for BBW stems from the First Amendment, and is echoed in the Library Bill of Rights.

On the issue of censorship it states, “Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources.”

Despite this principle, books are frequently challenged and sometimes (although rarely) are actually banned from libraries and schools. The American Library Association tracks these censorship efforts in their challenge database. In the years 1990-2010 over 10,000 books were challenged.

The number one cause for a challenge is sexually explicit material, followed by offensive language, violence, unsuited to age group, occult themes and a handful of other reasons. Of the 10,000 challenges in the last ten years 6,103 came directly from parents.

BBW has grown and adapted since its conception in 1982. This year, for the first time, it will include a virtual element.

Social medium YouTube has created a channel specifically for this event. The public is encouraged to submit videos of themselves reading from a challenged book or speaking about the importance of the freedom to read. Libraries nationwide will be holding local read outs. If you are interested in participating, information can be found at http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/.

Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Association of American Publishers and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. In 2011, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the National Council of Teachers of English and the PEN American Center also signed on as sponsors.