Freedom to Read | Community Read-in

In recognition of Freedom to Read Week, which is an annual event that encourages us to reflect on and question the impact of censorship on access to information, UBCO Library and the Equity and Inclusion Office have partnered to hold a community read-in.  

A community read-in is part book club and part coffee-house event, where a book is selected and folks gather to read and discuss it together. This year, we’ve selected two books that have been challenged in many libraries and schools recently: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. Excerpts of these books will be read aloud and discussed. There will be copies of these books available for people to read; you don’t need to read the book before attending the event.

Snacks will be provided and you can enter to win a copy of each book! No registration is necessary.  

At the community read-in, our goals are to:  

• Encourage participants to reflect on and question the impact of censorship on access to information and ideas.
• Challenge censorship that often disproportionately silences marginalized perspectives, reinforcing systemic inequities.
• Empower participants to confront and question who holds the power to censor and why.