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Cover of the book 'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, featuring an illustration of a tree with a clock and a bird.

Banning and challenging books is such a strange concept to me. I feel Americans should be free to read far & wide. Our minds should be as open as our beautiful Great Plains.

Readers should be free to have a copy of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee open in their hands. It’s a book that opens a portal to a specific time and place. It holds up a torch, made of words, to illuminate the social landscape for us. If you want to be an activist, you really should start with Scout!

I have a short list of organizations for you to follow, share and, just all around support:


American Library Association

National Coalition Against Censorship


Office for Intellectual Freedom (ALA)

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Supporting banned books, and their authors, is incredibly important. Shout them out on your socials! Keep awareness high all year long, not just during #BannedBooksWeek. Let’s show the community how much BCPL cares about banned books.

A professional headshot of Jenny Poole, a library page, alongside a text box introducing her as an advocate for challenged and banned books, emphasizing her belief in the freedom to read.
Banner for Banned Books Week with the message 'books are for reading, not burning' over a background of flames.

For more information on banned books, view our Intellectual Freedom blogs:
Intellectual Freedom at Boone County Public Library
More on Intellectual Freedom at Boone County Public Library