Judith Krug Fund Banned Books Week Event Grants

Each year FTRF distributes grants to non-profit organizations to support activities which raise awareness of intellectual freedom and censorship issues during the annual Banned Books Week celebration (September 23-29, 2018). Libraries, schools and universities are encouraged to apply. Grants are awarded at two levels, $1,000 and $2,500. To be eligible for a grant, organizations must not have been a recipient of an FTRF grant within the past five years.

Grantees also receive an ALA 2018 Banned Books Week PromoKit valued at $84 (includes one poster, one roll of stickers, one 50-pack of the “2017 Field Report: Banned and Challenged Books,” one 100-pack of bookmarks, and one tote bag).

Grantees are encouraged to share their events on social media and local press. A follow-up report detailing expenditures, numbers of participants, links to press coverage, and a narrative of the event is due within six weeks of the Banned Books Week celebration.

The 2018 Banned Books Week celebration is September 23-29, 2018. Click here to apply.

2017 Banned Books Week Grant Recipients

Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, Smith River, Calif. will hold a series of Banned Books Week awareness activities: including a banned book community read-out, banned and challenged book display, a banned book selfie campaign, "Blind Date with a Banned Book” program, and a community Zine workshop.

Rutgers University Libraries in New Brunswick, NJ, plans to collaborate with local community members, students, faculty and staff from the Mason Gross School of the Visual Arts to explore the ideas of intellectual freedom, censorship and banned books. The grant will provide an opportunity for students to create original art on the theme of banned books and the freedom to read, which will be widely shared with New Brunswick community members.

Carrol County Library in Huntingdon, Tenn., will collaborate with other local businesses to have community members dress up like characters from banned books and perform scenes from the books. The character(s) being represented will have a backdrop behind them shaped like a large book and decorated to fit the theme of the book. These will be placed around the town square so community members of the community will be able to walk from "book to book." Each book station will have a flier describing why the book was banned and the importance of having the freedom to read.

University of North Florida’s Thomas G. Carpenter Library in Jacksonville, Fla., will celebrate Banned Books Week with a month-long effort to raise awareness about the threat of censorship through graphic novel literacy. Graphic Novels under Attack will bring students, faculty and staff to events and activities in the library and around campus. It will include a bracket, exhibit, photo op, panel discussion, two pop-up makerspaces and social media content.

Alhambra Civic Center Library in Alhambra, Calif. will incorporate the banned books theme across programming for different ages and integrate it into ongoing programs. The Center is committed to increasing awareness among both established participants and new library visitors. The desired outcome is to encourage conversation and further study with a diverse audience and encourage more discussion and interaction with one another.

Thorntown Public Library in Thorntown, Ind. plans to combine Banned Book activities with the town-wide Festival of the Turning Leaves. It plans to host Banned Book Story Hour as part of the festival schedule. Staff members will decorate a Banned Book themed parade float, set up special displays and activities, and host a banned book essay and poster contest. A lead up to an exciting open house banned book event highlighting winners’ works.

City Lit Theater Company in Chicago, IL, plans to offer seven performances of “Books on the Chopping Block” at seven libraries, one for each day of Banned Books Week. The Company will cover the costs of producing the program by booking three or four paying libraries, then offer performances at other libraries that cannot afford to pay. It proposes to expand “Books on the Chopping Block” programming to include free performances to seven additional libraries in underserved neighborhoods in Chicago.

From the 2016 Grantees

On the evening of Friday, April 15, 2016 Banned: A community conversation about censorship and free speech (Banned) and Friends of Hemming Park co-hosted The Lorax Movie and Green Market, a family-friendly event in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. Event activities tied together two important issues during the week preceding Earth Day: the need to protect trees and our environment and the freedom to read. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss is a favorite banned classic that highlights the environmental impact of deforestation; the Year of the Trees was the Earth Day 2016 theme.

Troy University Libraries, a 2016 BBW grant recipient, celebrates the freedom to read.

Past Krug Fund grant recipients

Banned Books Week 2016

Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library, Tucson, AZ

Kimbel Library and Bryan Information Commons, Conway, SC

Springfield Local High Schoo l, New Middletown, OH

Saint Paul Public Library, Saint Paul, MN

Troy University Libraries, Troy, AL

The Water Buffalo Club, Los Angeles, CA

Banned Books Week 2015

Chapel Hill Public Library, Chapel Hill, NC.
Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in Indianapolis, IN.
Remembering for the Future Community Holocaust Initiative in Neptune Beach, FL.
SA Youth, an organization that works with at-risk youth in San Antonio, TX.
Virginia Beach Public Library, VA.

Banned Books Week 2010

Seven organizations were awarded Banned Books Week inaugural Krug Fund event grants in 2010. They were: Iowa City Public Library, Takoma Park Maryland Library, Canisius College, Santa Monica Public Library, St. Catharine College, Dayton Metro Library - East Branch, and ACLU of Pennsylvania.

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Banned Books Week 2010