Newsletter: Libraries for Children and Young Adults Section, October 2023

IFLA's Section on Libraries for Children and Young Adults had its midyear meeting in Singapore in May. One night, over dinner, we started talking about intellectual freedom, censorship, and book banning. Our Australian and Norwegian members said that they organized exhibits in their libraries about "Books Banned in the United States." Those of us from the United States were suddenly aware of how what is happening in the US is perceived around the world. Of course, challenges and book bans are not isolated to the United States. As librarians, we believe that the freedom to read is a core tenant of democracy. We decided to create a special edition newsletter in conjunction with Banned Books Week (October 1-7th, 2023) that would look at censorship and book challenges worldwide. This newsletter contains articles from England, France, Kenya, Norway, Thailand, and three from the United States. We hope that this newsletter inspires conversations -- and advocacy for freedom to read around the world.