The Auraria Library staunchly supports intellectual freedom and opposes censorship of library resources. The phrase "banned or challenged books" refers to written works that have faced restrictions or censorship. Throughout history, books have been banned or challenged for controversial, political, or social content by governments, suppressed from library shelves, erased from school curricula, or restricted in sales based on age. Libraries resist censorship and make information freely accessible, affirming the public's right to choose reading materials for themselves. 

Banned Books Week celebrates our First Amendment freedoms and raises awareness of the persistent threats against free expression in literature and the arts. You can find preliminary data released by ALA on the ongoing increase in efforts to ban books, resources, and services in public, school, and university libraries across the U.S. in the first eight months of 2023. Below includes a selection of books from our collection that have been banned or challenged for some reason over time, as well as additional resources about the history and current landscape of book censorship