Banned Books Week
Next week, from October 5th to 11th, marks the start of Banned Books Week, an annual celebration of the freedom to read and a crucial reminder of the ongoing fight against censorship.
As museums and museum stores, this is a vital opportunity to champion the core principles that underpin our institutions.
The Threat of Censorship
Censorship is a live, existential threat to every institution committed to presenting the unvarnished truth.
When speech is suppressed, it directly threatens your:
Museum Store: Limits the books, prints, and media you can sell, thereby muzzling your ability to fully represent your mission and exhibitions through retail
Collections: Undermining the context and validity of your holdings
Research: Limiting the scope and freedom of intellectual exploration
A History of Resistance
Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. Its purpose then, and now, is to draw national attention to the harms of censorship and to remind everyone that the freedom to seek and express ideas is a fundamental human right.
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