American Library Association

  • What to Read When You Want to Read an “Uncomfortable” Book

    What to Read When You Want to Read an “Uncomfortable” Book

    Authors whose works have been challenged or banned give recommendations on other “uncomfortable” books that will make you a better person for having read them.

  • Libraries Are the Real Punk Rock

    Libraries Are the Real Punk Rock

    Maybe I was only in the eighth grade, but I was ready to stand up to anyone who tried to threaten the ideal of intellectual freedom.

  • 20 Years of Latino Children’s Literature

    The American Library Association’s Pura Belpré Awards just had its 20th anniversary this past weekend, celebrating two decades of outstanding Latino writers and illustrators who create books for Latino children and teens. The Monitor reported on the event, which featured dozens…

  • All About Banned Books

    Americans love banning books, and the winners of this year’s most banned books have been announced by the American Library Association. John Green’s young adult novel Looking for Alaska takes the top spot, keeping Green in the top ten. He…

  • Librarians in Wartime

    Over the holiday weekend, Linton Weeks wrote for NPR’s History Dept. on the critical role of librarians in World Wars I and II. Weeks spoke to Cara Bertram, an archivist for the American Library Association: The books that did make…

  • The Most Banned Books

    Every year, the American Library Association releases a list of the top banned books in the country. But how do you determine which book is the most banned? The statisticians at FiveThirtyEight attempted to figure out exactly which book earned the crowning…

  • America’s Most Challenged Books

    The American Library Association’s 2010 List of Most Challenged Books has been officially released. This year’s scandalous subject matter includes penguin adoption, vampire love and topics in Aldous Huxley’s classic novel, Brave New World.