SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (KCAU)– Several people gathered at the Sergeant Bluff Public Library to learn more about the many books banned from classrooms across the country.

Annie’s Foundation is a nonprofit run by six moms from Johnson, Iowa with the goal of bringing awareness to book bannings across the country. The foundation travels from state to state talking to Siouxlanders about a handful of stories that have been banned by one or more school districts, and then giving away those books to people that attended the event.

“A lot of people aren’t really even aware that book bans and challenges are happening these days, so that’s one of the first things is just letting people know that this is actually something that’s going on. and then we also feel like these stories need to be shared,” said Sara Hadyn Parris, the president of Annie’s Foundation.

According to Pen America, thousands of books have been pulled from schools across the country, with Iowa getting rid of roughly 450 from their shelves.