September 2007 Archives

Why do we highlight banned books in the library every year and why should you care?

Because this is a basic intellectual freedom issue!  The American Library Association states that it is your right to "seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction."  Stop by our display in the library foyer and see if you can figure out which books are wrapped in brown paper.

Books have been banned for  political, religious, sexual, or social grounds.  Did you know that The Bible is at the top of the list of banned books?  Many of the books that you read for your English classes have been banned at some time in history, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Canterbury Tales, The Scarlet Letter, The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill A Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Check out this link to see a list of the top 112 banned books owned by libraries:  http://www.oclc.org/research/top1000/banned.htm

Do you know the difference between a banned book and a challenged book?

According to the American Library Association, "A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others."

Here is a link to the American Library Association's list of the books most challenged in 2006:

http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=151926

No list of challenged books is complete without mentioning Harry Potter!  Last year, the Harry Potter books were at the top of ALA's list of most challenged books of the 21st century.  Also on this list was the Captain Underpants series, a perennial favorite of small boys!  Here's a link to this interesting list:

http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2006/september2006/HarryPottermostchallenge.htm

Here's more information about challenged and banned books from the ALA:

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/challengedbanned/challengedbanned.htm