In honor of National Banned Books Week and to celebrate the freedom to read, the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City is challenging patrons to read a challenged book.

From now until Oct. 5, the Marianna Black Library will have a display of books wrapped in plain paper with only an explanation of why the book has been challenged in the past. This will allow patrons to only guess the title of the book they’re about to check out. If you decide to check out a challenged book.

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week attempts to draws national attention to the harms of censorship.

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