At the 2025 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, more than 200 attendees visited the Sage-sponsored “Banned Books from the Big Chair” exhibit—created in partnership with the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom—to show opposition to book challenges, exchange local strategies against censorship, and read aloud from frequently banned titles.
The exhibit featured data on 2024’s most-challenged books and welcomed award-winning authors such as Laurie Halse Anderson, A.S. King, Sarah and Ian Hoffman, and Judah Freed, who participated in live readings. Recordings from the event will be released during Banned Books Week (October 5–11) on the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom Banned Books Week YouTube channel.
Sage has co-hosted the exhibit for over ten years alongside organizations including Unite Against Book Bans and the Banned Books Week Coalition, demonstrating its ongoing support for academic freedom. At this year’s conference, Sage also co-sponsored the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award, which was presented to Dr. Shannon M. Oltmann—Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky’s School of Information Science—in recognition of her work translating censorship research into practical guidance for library professionals.
As an independent publisher, Sage continues to advocate for intellectual freedom through its publication of Index on Censorship—a platform celebrating artists at risk, fostering speech debates, and monitoring threats to free expression. More details on Sage’s censorship initiatives are available on its Academic Freedom webpage.
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