Freedom to Read Project

Become a volunteer

Support the Freedom to Read

example

Get the Guide: Turning the Page

Turning the Page: an Advocate's Guide to the Freedom to Read was made by public school parents who found themselves in the middle of an organized plan to undermine public education. This guide puts critical information and organizing support in one place, to make the lift a little lighter for the average volunteer advocate.

Get the Guide

About Us

The Freedom to Read Project exists to develop education and research materials to help limit book bans and education censorship across the country. We support robust, content-rich classroom, school, and public libraries and oppose the removal of books based on ideological, partisan, or religious reasons.

Donate To Fight Book Bans in the United States

Donate To Fight Book Bans in the United States. The Freedom to Read Project is a 501(c)(3) organization that advocates to protect student access to information and books in our public schools and communities.

Choose Amount:

$25

$50

$100

$250

$1000

$2500

Donate

Keeping Up and Checking In

Read the latest news, tips, and get access to the information you need to advocate effectively for the freedom to read.

Stop Calling Book Banning a "Culture War"

July 08, 2026

Open almost any news story about book bans, school library restrictions, or challenges to classroom materials, and you'll likely see the same phrase: the culture war over books. It's become such common shorthand that many people no longer question it. But the label itself deserves scrutiny.

What Should Schools Teach, and Who Decides?

July 02, 2026

Every generation revisits the same questions about public education. How should students learn about the nation's founding? How should schools discuss slavery, civil rights, religion, immigration, and civic responsibility? How do educators teach difficult chapters of history honestly while also helping students understand the ideals that have shaped the United States? These are not new debates, and they are unlikely to disappear. What has changed is where these decisions are increasingly being made.

When One Objection Becomes Everyone’s Problem

June 25, 2026

A parent in one county objects to a book. A review committee considers the challenge. A district makes a decision. Perhaps only a handful of people in the community even know the challenge is happening. Maybe there is an opportunity for public input. Maybe there is not. Maybe the decision reflects the views of the broader community. Maybe it does not. Traditionally, that decision would remain local. Increasingly, however, it does not.

Beyond "Do You Support Book Bans?" Questions Every Voter Should Ask Local Candidates

June 17, 2026

Election season often brings renewed attention to education, libraries, and the freedom to read. Candidates for school board, superintendent, city council, county commission, state legislature, and other local offices routinely encounter questions about book bans and censorship. Unfortunately, many of those conversations stop at a simple question: "Do you support book bans?"

When a Curation Practice Becomes Censorship by Another Name

June 11, 2026

Libraries are living collections. Books come in. Books wear out. Books become outdated. Books stop circulating. New titles arrive, community interests shift, and available shelf space remains finite. Because of this reality, librarians have long relied on a professional practice known as weeding: the thoughtful removal of materials that no longer serve the needs of the collection.

An Open Letter to Educators: Thank You

June 04, 2026

As another school year comes to a close, we want to take a moment to say something that often gets lost amid report cards, testing schedules, summer plans, and end-of-year celebrations: Thank you.

The Books We’ll Never Read: How Book Bans Create Invisible Censorship

May 27, 2026

The Visible Fight… and the Invisible One For years, conversations about book bans have focused on the books already under attack, the novels removed from shelves, the memoirs challenged at school board meetings, the titles locked behind parental permission policies or pulled from classrooms altogether. These visible battles matter. But increasingly, authors, publishers, librarians, and educators are warning about a quieter and potentially more dangerous consequence of censorship: the books that never get written in the first place. This is the hidden cost of book bans.

Freedom-to-Read Fatigue: What Happens When Outrage Stops Working?

May 21, 2026

There was a time when every book ban headline felt shocking. A school district removing dozens of titles from shelves. A library board meeting erupting into chaos. A teacher threatened for assigning a novel. A state introducing legislation that suddenly put librarians under scrutiny. Each story felt urgent, alarming, impossible to ignore. But after years of nonstop censorship headlines, something quieter has started to emerge alongside the outrage: exhaustion.

The Shift From Banning Stories to Banning Information

May 13, 2026

For years, conversations about book bans have largely centered around novels. The public debate often focused on fiction featuring LGBTQ+ characters, discussions of race, or stories that challenged dominant cultural narratives. Opponents of censorship repeatedly explained why students deserved access to diverse stories and perspectives, while supporters of restrictions framed these removals as protecting children from “inappropriate” ideas.

Who Decides What’s “Age Appropriate”? The Quiet Power Behind Book Bans

May 07, 2026

The Power Hidden Inside a Phrase “Age appropriate.” It sounds reasonable. Responsible, even. It is the kind of phrase that shows up in legislation, school board meetings, and social media debates with an air of common sense. Of course we want materials that are appropriate for our children. Of course we want to consider developmental stages.