Missouri Western State University will hold its 20th annual Reading of Challenged and Banned Books on Wednesday.

The event, in recognition of the American Library Association’s Banned Book Week, is free and open to the public.

Missouri Western students and faculty will be joined by members of the community to read selections from books that have been either banned or challenged in U.S. schools in recent years. Refreshments will be served following the reading.

The event is sponsored by the Department of English and Modern Languages, the Department of Education, the Missouri Western State University Library, Prairie Lands Writing Project and SNCTE.

The event takes place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Hoff Conference Room, Blum Student Union, room 218.

For more information, contact Dr. Michael Cadden, EML at (816) 271-4576, Dr. Michael Smith, education at (816) 271-4514, or Sally Gibson, library director at (816) 271-4369.