As part of an annual push against book bans, librarians from Orland Park, Tinley Park and other area libraries will highlight materials in their collections that have been censored elsewhere.
Traditionally known as Banned Books Week, the American Library Association reframed the event this year as Let Books Be, observed this year Oct. 4 to 10.
“We want to focus on the positive,” said Orland Park Public Library youth services manager Brandi Smits. “To encourage people to read what they want and not determine what other people should read.”
According to the American Library Association, 4,235 book titles were challenged in 2025, the second highest number compared to 2023’s 4,240 titles.
The most challenged books of 2025 were “Sold” by Patricia McCormick, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, “Empire of Storms” by Sarah J. Maas, “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo, “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas, “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess, “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins, “Looking for Alaska” by John Green and “Storm and Fury” by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
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Smits said children’s and teen books consistently gain the most attention, especially those that center stories of racism or LGBTQ+ experiences.
“The books that people may not want their children to see, other people’s children are seeing themselves in those books,” Smits said. “You don’t get to decide what books are not available.”
Visitors to Orland Park, Tinley Park and other area public libraries will see curated displays of titles that have appeared on banned books lists not only recently, but over many years, during Let Books Be Week.
“There’ll be classics on there, and then there’ll be some modern stuff as well,” said Tinley Park Public Library adult services manager Terry Parker.
Illinois was the first state to enact a law that allows the secretary of state’s office to withhold grant funding from municipal and school district libraries if they don’t adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which holds that “materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”
Both Parker and Smits said since then, they haven’t seen persistent pushback from community members over items in their collections.
“I think everyone on both sides of the aisle kind of can agree that freedom to read what you want is important,” Parker said. “I’d hope for most people, it’s kind of an issue that transcends the traditional political divide.”
Smits said some people vent frustrations about books in Orland Park Public Library’s collection, but they rarely end up filing a formal complaint. Library staff members have a script of what to say under those circumstances, Smits said.
“It’s basically like we hear them out, and then just remind them that not everyone has to like or check out every book,” she said.
But while media coverage of threats to book freedom has died down, Smits said “silent opinions” remain important to challenge. She added Orland Park Public Library staff make sure to center stories that may help underrepresented community members feel seen, such as those featuring Arab-American people and topics.
“We wanted to showcase to our patrons that you can read these books — they are here for you,” Smits said. “It’s a way to highlight diversity and inclusion and make sure that if somebody feels like they are on the outside or not being seen, that we do see you and we do have books for you.”
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