Current Exhibitions

Central Library in Copley Square (Gallery J)
January 10, 2025 - March 24, 2025

Book banning in America is nothing new. In the past, challenges to the distribution of books were usually leveled against single volumes being sent by mail or placed in public and school libraries for perusal by any who wished, subject only to restrictions based on the age of readers. In recent years, movements have arisen purportedly oriented to protecting children from access to books that confront traditional accounts of American history, make them “uncomfortable,” or expose them to issues relating to race, gender identity and sexuality that would otherwise open doors among some to a healthy consideration of feelings about their own identities in a pluralistic society. Such efforts bring to bear pressure, particularly on librarians, teachers, and school boards, to remove suspect books from library and classroom shelves.

The American Library Association, which tracks book challenges and bans each year, reports a 65% increase in the number of challenged and banned books between 2023 and 2024 alone, with 4,240 unique titles targeted. This is a rising threat to the freedom to read. Artist Karen Moss's great concern with this alarming situation led her to focus her art on the project of depicting people of all ages reading banned books that relate to their particular interests or life experience. The oldest participant is a Holocaust survivor, aged 98, reading Maus, and the youngest a 13-month old baby posing with Babies First Banned Book. So far other participants in this project are reading books that include subjects ranging from American history, to gender issues, to antisemitism and racism. It is Moss's hope that this series may contribute to a wider understanding of the importance of access to books by all who wish to read them.