Opening of the traveling exhibition in the foyer of the Landesbibliothek MV on 17.02.2026 at 7 pm
The banned books have one thing in common: they were banned from US libraries - comics on gender identity, political texts, but also classics of literature and dictionaries. In 2024, the American Library Association (ALA) documented 2,452 banned titles. Since 2021, PEN America has documented nearly 23,000 banned books in US public schools. The traveling exhibition presentation offers a selection of these books to browse through and tells the stories behind the debates.
"This censorship is driven by groups with conservative viewpoints - and has spread to nearly every state," says PEN America. "It primarily targets books about racism or books that feature people of color and LGBTQ+ people and issues, as well as books for older readers that contain sexual innuendo or educate about sexual violence." Many books have reached the book ban in recent years: classics such as Charles Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species', Anne Frank's 'Diaries', modern literature such as Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale' or Haruki Murakami's 'Kafka on the Shore'. Literature by minorities and the civil rights movement was also removed from school, city and university libraries, such as James Baldwin's 'Go Tell It on the Mountain' or Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's 'An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States'. Literature on sexual orientation such as Maia Kobabe's 'Gender Queer' or Alex Gino's 'George' were removed from the shelves under pressure from individual interest groups, as were Art Spiegelman's classic graphic novel 'Maus' or J. K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter'. In the book exhibition, you can browse independently through the pages of novels, polemics, studies, graphic novels, children's books and dictionaries and gain an impression of what a society loses when books are censored.
Book bans touch on central questions of a democratic society. We invite you to take the books into your own hands, form your own opinion and start a conversation - about freedom of expression and responsibility in a democratic society.
The traveling exhibition is a cooperation between the MV State Library and the MV State Association of the German Library Association (dbv) and will be on display in various libraries and cultural institutions in the state over the coming months.
PROGRAM OF THE OPENING EVENT
WELCOME
Dr. Ramona Dornbusch, Director of the State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation
WELCOME
State Secretary Susanne Bowen, Ministry of Science, Culture, Federal and European Affairs
WELCOME
Silvio Witt, Chairman of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Association of the German Library Association (dbv)
THE AMBIVALENCE OF BANNED BOOKS - INTRODUCTORY IMPULSE
Matthias Wehry, Head of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Library Department Günther Uecker at the State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation
AT THE END
DRINKS, DISCUSSION AND BROWSING THROUGH THE BANNED BOOKS
The event is free of charge. Parking is available on site. Registration for the event is not necessary.
The exhibition "banned books" can be visited in the State Library until 27.02.2026 during opening hours. Admission is free.
The dbv-Landesverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern represents the interests of libraries in the state. It is responsible for the specialist department for public libraries and thus provides impetus not only for political discussions, but also for professional matters. The association is committed to strengthening the role of libraries in society and politics and makes their importance in culture, education and science and their function for a democratic society visible. The regional association formulates library policy demands, addresses fundamental issues and takes a position on current developments. The purpose of the dbv-Landesverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is to promote culture, education and science by actively and directly promoting the library system and information in the interests of the general public. Particular attention is paid to the cooperation of all libraries and library institutions, library and information science at state level, the federal association and the professional library associations.
The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Günther Uecker State Library goes back to the Ducal Government Library founded in 1779 and, as a critical infrastructure, preserves important historical holdings as well as a large collection of works from and about Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has legally tasked the state library in Schwerin with collecting, cataloging and archiving the state's current printed works for the future. According to the state law and ordinance on the delivery of printed works, all printed products published in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern must be delivered to the state library free of charge within one month of publication. Titles about Mecklenburg-Vorpommern that are published outside the state are acquired by the State Library. The State Library is a department of the State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation. The old building at its location on Johannes-Stelling-Straße is now part of Schwerin's UNESCO World Heritage ensemble.
