Palo Alto City Library is highlighting free streaming documentaries, staff-curated reading lists and digital book collections for Banned Books Week, which runs Oct. 4–10.

The national campaign carries the 2026 theme "Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read." Streaming films and digital books require a library card; staff-created reading lists can be browsed online.

The week comes as book challenges remain near record levels nationwide. The American Library Association tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, just five short of the all-time high set in 2023, according to the ALA. Pressure groups, government officials and other decision makers initiated 92 percent of all book challenges documented by the ALA. Fewer than 3 percent came from individual parents.

Two 2025 documentaries anchor the library's Kanopy lineup. "The Librarians," directed by Kim A. Snyder, won the 2026 Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. "Banned Together," directed by Kate Way and Tom Wiggin, follows three students in Beaufort, South Carolina, who pushed back after 97 books were pulled from their school library. Both stream free with a library card.

Staff have also assembled reading lists of frequently challenged titles, and Hoopla is hosting curated eBook and eAudiobook collections for the week.

In a blog post published Friday, Oct. 2, the library cited its Collection Development Policy, which supports "each customer's fundamental right of access to knowledge, creativity, and intellectual activity." The library said parents and legal guardians remain responsible for guiding their own children's reading choices.

Of the titles challenged nationally in 2025, 40 percent represented the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color, according to the ALA. The top challenged book was "Sold" by Patricia McCormick, followed by "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky and "Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe.

Residents can browse the lists, stream the films or check out a challenged title at any of the five locations: Downtown Library at 270 Forest Ave., Mitchell Park Library, Rinconada Library at 1213 Newell Road, Children's Library at 1276 Harriet St. and College Terrace Library at 2300 Wellesley St.