After the success of 2024's Queer Book Fair, the Lincoln LGBTQ+ Resource Center is holding another book fair. This year, in response the continued rise in book bans and challenges, as well as recent actions taken by the United States federal government to erase cultural, historical, and scientific information from its websites, the fair has shifted its focus to feature banned books.
The events of 2025 include a display of banned titles from the Lincoln Center and Foley Library collections in the Hemmingson Rotunda from April 7th-9th.
On Tuesday, April 8th, (11 am to 1 pm) there will be a reading of passages from banned books in the Joan Jundt Lounge (Hemmingson 201). All are invited to read passages or just listen!
The three-day event closes with a panel "I'm With the Banned" featuring Foley Library Dean Heather James and other guests. They panel will discuss the importance of libraries, the impact of book banning, and more. This will take place in the Lincoln LGBTQ+ Resource Center (Hemmingson 213) from 3 to 4 pm.
The Lincoln LGBTQ+ Resource Center, supported through a Jesuit Association of Student Personnel Administrators (JASPA) Innovation Grant, held a Queer Book Fair on February 8th in the Hemmingson Rotunda! This event will featured books from the Lincoln Center's circulating collection, including titles by queer authors on a wide spectrum of issues and topics, and books banned for their queer content. Visitors to the display were invited to vote for the best queer book in a March Madness-style bracket, which led to Alice Walker's The Color Purple taking home the victory.