2016 Banned Books Week Display Winners

Congratulations to the staff at the Augusta County Library and the Chesapeake Public Library, Central Branch — co-winners of the VLA 2016 Banned Books Week display contest, sponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Committee!

Augusta County Library

To celebrate Banned Books Week, Augusta County Library commissioned a local artist, Ben Thomas, to create a "mixed media piece by deconstructing and burning banned or challenged books" which had been donated to the library and which were in poor condition. The library also featured a “caught reading banned books” mugshot station, and separate displays of banned and challenged books in adult, teen, and children's areas. The library’s teen librarian visited a local middle school and gave 3 book talks about banned and challenged books. Get more information about the August County Library's Banned Books Week displays here.

Chesapeake Public Library

The Chesapeake Public Library, Central Branch created several banned book displays, for different patron age groups. The largest display was an interactive one featuring many banned and challenged books, encouraging patrons to open them up to learn the reasons that they had been challenged. The displays in the children’s area included a variety of stuffed animals, with clever puns about the books they love which have been challenged. The teen area includes bookmarks with quotations from authors about banned books.

More Photos

Here are some more photos from our winners:

2016 Banned Books Week Contest

We will be sharing many more images soon, from all the libraries which participated. There are lots of great ideas for your next display. Thanks to everyone, and we look forward to seeing everyone's creative ideas next year.

— The Intellectual Freedom Committee
Stand Up for Your Right To Read!