It’s time for Page Two: news that might not make the front page on Monday, October 6, 2025.
Banned Books Week is October 5-11 this year.
It began more than 40 years ago in response to a surge in attempts to restrict reading materials in schools and libraries.
The American Library Association explains that a ban occurs when materials are taken off the shelf. Challenges are formal requests to remove or restrict materials.
The 2025 theme is “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.” It’s a nod to George Orwell’s novel 1984, a book often challenged for its political themes.
In September, PEN America warned of unprecedented levels of book banning nationwide.
“Never before in the life of any living American,” the report states, “have so many books been systematically removed from school libraries.”
The most banned book in the past year is A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. The 1962 novel raises questions about morality and free will.
Steven King is the author most likely to be censored.
Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Florida are responsible for eighty-percent of books temporarily or permanently removed from library shelves.
The Valley school district is no stranger to book banning. In 2023 the school district pulled 56 books from the school library shelves.
The Northern Justice Project and the ACLU of Alaska filed a lawsuit against the Mat-Su Borough School District over their removal.
The school district formed the Library Citizens Advisory Committee in 2023 to review the 56 books and determine whether they should be banned.
The school board ultimately voted to permanently remove seven of those books from circulation and returned 30 to shelves based on the advisory board’s recommendation.
Four additional titles await consideration. 15 remaining titles had been lost or stolen and were removed from the review list.
In August 2024, the District was ordered by the courts to return all but seven of the books to library shelves before the start of the school year.
The October 2024 settlement of the suit required the District to pay $89,000 to the plaintiffs.
The ACLU of Alaska, the Banned Bookmobile, and Out North Radio will hold a pop-up event on Friday, Oct. 10, from 3 p.m.to 7 p.m. outside Black Birch Books.
Visitors can pick up a donated banned book and read an excerpt on air with Out North Radio. The event is free and open to the public.
Donations of banned books are being accepted at Black Birch Books in Wasilla and Fireside Books in Palmer.
It’s the last day for early voting for citizens of Palmer, Wasilla and Houston at your city hall between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Tomorrow polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
We’re looking for reactions to our Voices of the Mat-Su series that finished this summer. Please complete a short survey on your impressions of Voices of the Mat-Su.
Page Two articles are written by Emily Forstner and Lee Henrikson. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
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That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Monday, October 6, 2025.