2017 Banned Books Week Awards

Award Statement:Teresa Doherty

I am honored to announce the winners of this year's Banned Books Week display contest.

This year, we had submissions from 30 different libraries, including several branches of the same county or regional system; 27 public libraries and 3 academic libraries. There were lots of creative displays and opportunities for patron interaction with the ideas behind Banned Books Week - that words have power and our First Amendment freedom of speech is just as important now as when it was written.

The public library winner created what they called a: “Read-easy -- a speak-easy for Banned Books.” They had a “Read Between the Lines display” with crates and barrels spilling out streams of challenged book covers, with life size silhouettes of folks imbibing illicit books! Congratulations to Chesapeake Public Library, Dr. Clarence V Cuffee Branch.

The winning academic library used social media to promote their events and collaborated with the Campus Bookstore and Professors in the English literature, Linguistics and Speech Departments to organize a public reading of selections of classic Banned books. They also created a book display in the lobby, with books covered in paper burned at the edges. Congratulations to University of Mary Washington Library.