
Banned Books Week 2025: Intellectual Freedom Scavenger Hunt
September 2 @ 9:00 am – October 10 @ 7:30 pm
Join us for a community-based Alternate Reality game and learning experience for adults! Enter a world inspired by George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel 1984, where libraries, schools, and bookstores have been scrubbed clean of “uncomfortable” and “challenging” ideas courtesy of Big Bother, the “benevolent” dictator. But you have a chance to join the Resistance: follow the clues and head out into Penn Yan to locate four allies in intellectual freedom, collecting information about the dangers of censorship along the way. It will all culminate in a final gathering – the exact date and location revealed only to those who successfully complete the scavenger hunt – to discuss the issues and feelings raised in the process. Prizes will be available every step of the way. Conceived and presented by Penn Yan Public Library, where the hunt begins.