As Hillsborough Count tops Florida in book bans, local group joins national effort in Ybor City

Banning together against books is the goal one local group had in Ybor City, Saturday night and it was all part of a national initiative called Banned Books Week.

Bookends: Literature & Libations bookstore, a local mobile bookstore, held a book ban event at the Gasparilla Distillery and Cocktail Bar,

"One book pulled off the shelf is one too many," said Laurie Rodriguez, the event organizer."

But it's not just one, thousands of books have been taken off the shelves of Florida schools, according to a new report from PEN America, an organization that advocates for free expression.

Their data shows that Florida was the number one state for book bans, with 2,304 books removed. And in Hillsborough County, Pen America reports its leading the state with the most books banned at 608.

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