Library Displays: Banned Books Week

Librarians tend to make a lot of displays, even at the secondary level! I like to document the displays that I've done in part so that I could recreate them in the future, but also so that I can demonstrate the book promotions that I've tried.

Some of the most elaborate displays I create annually for our high school library are for Banned Books Week. I email teachers and ask if they would like me to teach a lesson to their students on censorship or on book banning. This usually results in teaching lessons to several classes during Banned Books week. Often, one or two teachers will email later in the year about teaching a censorship lesson that fits into a unit that they are working on, citing my BBW email.

One year, I created a display outside of the library doors, and I covered the display case with papers that very crudely said "censored." When I removed the papers on the first day of Banned Books Week, information about banned books was revealed.

Have fun with Banned Books Week! Teenagers tend to be fascinated and surprised by the books included on the banned books lists published by ALA, and they love to talk about censorship.