This year marks the 31st anniversary of Banned Books Week, the national book community’s celebration of the freedom to read. To commemorate this landmark anniversary, ALA is pleased to share this collection of significant banned and challenged books. For each year from 1982 to 2012, ALA has highlighted one book banned or challenged in that particular year. In most cases, these books faced significant controversy that spanned numerous years.
The timeline presents only a sample of particularly notable challenges to particularly notable books during this period.