at the Coralville Public Library
Celebrate your freedom to read this October!
From October 1-31 we invite you to take part in our Banned Books Reading Challenge by reading banned or challenged books*.
- Read 1 book to earn a small prize.
- Read 2 to earn a book to keep.
- Read 3 to enter the prize drawing for a “Let Books Be” mug with a tote bag and a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card.
Log your reading on Beanstack or pick up a paper log at the Library.
Find a list of banned and challenged books below, under Recommendations in Discover on the Beanstack app, or pick one up from the display in the Library rotunda.
*A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.
THANK YOU Friends of the Coralville Public Library for sponsoring the Banned Books Reading Challenge.
The Banned Books Reading Challenge is part of the Library’s Banned Books Week activities.
The American Library Association launched Banned Books Week in 1982 after a surge in book challenges. By bringing attention to efforts to remove or restrict access to materials, Banned Books Week highlights the dangers of censorship and the value of intellectual freedom. Each year — and every day — the library champions our freedom to read.
Censorship by the Numbers
In 2025, the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom tracked a record number of challenges — 4,235 unique titles. Of those, 39 percent represent the lived experience of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color. Nearly 92 percent of all book challenges were initiated by pressure groups and government decision makers. About 66 percent of the total challenged books were actually banned from libraries — the highest rate of challenges resulting in censorship to date.
More information can be found on the American Library Association’s website.