Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
BANNED BOOK WEEK-2024
BANNED BOOK WEEK-24. Following the removal of fifty books from the shelves of the public schools of the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, citizens gathered at Voices Studios on September 25, 2024 for an event organized by LORAS COLLEGE. The subject highlighted books that have been subjected to challenge and bans.
Steve Drahozal, a local attorney, spoke of the consequences banning books has had on authors, librarians, and booksellers. Book banning has increased in recent years. The Office of Intellectual Freedom reported that more than 4,000 book titles and challenged in the United States in 2023 which was an increase from the 2,500 in 2023. Reactions to the local banning included the ordering of the banned books stocked by River Lights Bookstore with opportunities for local residents to sit in the store's display window and read a commonly challenged book.
A new mural was commissioned to celebrate banned books. Entitled, The "Forgotten Bookshelf," the mural depicting a variety of books which have been challenged, was located at the new pocket park on the corner of Central and Ninth STREETS. The mural was painted in partnership with the DUBUQUE JAYCEES, CARNEGIE-STOUT PUBLIC LIBRARY Foundation, Dubuque Forward, River Lights, and LORAS COLLEGE. The project received the National Academy of Design's Abbey Mural Prize to help finance its creation. Loras students secured the sponsorships and gathered support for the mural's creation from local college libraries.
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Source:
1. Bond, Maia, "Banned Book Week Events, New Mural Decry Censorship," Telegraph Herald, September 26, 2024, p. 1A