ALA Kicks Off National Library Week

It’s National Library Week (NLW), the weeklong celebration of the important role libraries and library workers play in schools and communities across the United States.

The theme of NLW this year is “Finding Your Joy,” an invitation for everyone to explore and discover what sparks joy in them at the library. Throughout the week, librarian, “Reading Rainbow” host, and NLW Honorary Chair Mychal Threets will elevate the important role libraries and library workers play in schools and communities. It’s something that he’s incredibly passionate about.

“Celebrating libraries, thanking library workers, visiting libraries is how I find my joy,” Threets said. “There are so many library kids and library grown-ups who have yet to fully embrace their library joy, and I am so excited for them! When they enter the world of libraries and stories, I am confident they will find not only their library joy but their courage to believe in their own story and maybe even share it with others.”

A week of celebration

First observed in 1958, NLW is an annual observance by ALA and libraries across the country each April. It’s a week full of celebrations:

Monday, April 20: Right to Read Day, a day for readers, advocates, and library lovers to take action to protect, defend, and celebrate the right to read.  

Tuesday, April 21: National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators, and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. 

Wednesday, April 22: National Library Outreach Day (formerly National Bookmobile Day), a day to celebrate library outreach and the dedicated library professionals who are meeting their patrons where they are. 

Thursday, April 23: Take Action for Libraries Day, ALA is calling on library supporters to contact their congressmembers and voice opposition to the federal book banning bill, H.R. 7661.

The State of America’s Libraries

NLW also sees the release of ALA’s State of America’s Libraries Report. The annual report includes the highly anticipated Top 11 Most Challenged Books List and updates on book censorship in the U.S. compiled by ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF).

The 2026 report shows that OIF tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, the second highest ever documented by ALA. The highest ever documented was 4,240 in 2023. Of the unique titles challenged in 2025, 1,671 (40%) represent the lived experiences of members of the LGBTQIA+ people and people of color.  

ALA defines “ban” as the removal of materials from a library based on the objections of a person or group. A “challenge” is an attempt to have a library resource removed, or access to it restricted, based on the objections of a person or group. In 2025, OIF documented 5,668 books banned from libraries (66% of the total challenged). An additional 920 books were censored. This is both the highest number of titles censored in one year and the highest rate of challenges resulting in censorship from 1990-2025.   

The report also shows that, in 2025, 92% percent of all book challenges were initiated by pressure groups and government officials, up from 72% in 2024. Less than 3% of challenges originated from individual parents. ALA documented 713 attempts to censor library materials and services, 487 of which targeted books. 

The top 11 most targeted titles in 2025 were: 

1. “Sold” by Patricia McCormick  
2. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky  
3. “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe  
4. “Empire of Storms” by Sarah J. Maas  
5. (tie) “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo  
6. (tie) “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins  
7. “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas  
8. (tie) “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess  
9. (tie) “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins  
10. (tie) “Looking for Alaska” by John Green  
11. (tie) “Storm and Fury” by Jennifer L. Armentrout