MONTICELLO, NY — Celebrate your freedom to read during Banned Books Week at the Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library. Banned Books Week is September 21-27, and highlights the importance of free and open access to information, and celebrates the ability to choose to read any and all books. This year, the American Library Association (ALA) has chosen to highlight comic books that have been banned.

The library will celebrate by having a Read-A-Thon on the last day of Banned Books Week, September 27. The Read-A-Thon will take place from 12 noon to 4 p.m. on the library front lawn. Anyone may sign up for a 20-minute time slot to read aloud from a banned book. The library will have a selection of banned books to choose from, as well as a list of the top banned books. There will also be a program on September 25 at 4 p.m. for kids and teens. Bring a T-shirt, and decorate it with a Banned Books Week slogan.

Books can be banned from schools and libraries for a variety of reasons. Some banned books include “The Catcher in the Rye,” the Harry Potter series, “The Giving Tree,” “Charlotte’s Web,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Hunger Games” trilogy. For more information about Banned Books Week and frequently banned and challenged books, visit the ALA website, www.ala.org/bbooks. For more information on the Read-A-Thon or to sign up for a time slot, call the library at 845/794-4660 ext. 8.