Banned Books Week, September 29 - October 4

Can reading be toxic to your brain? Take a look at our "toxic books" display in the library foyer.  You'll find several books that have been challenged or banned somewhere in the U.S. for various reasons.  Usually those reasons are political, religious, or social.  For example, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird have been challenged for racial issues.  The Golden Compass and all the Harry Potter books have been challenged for religious reasons.  The Chocolate War has been challenged for mature content, offensive language, and violence.

The books on display are marked with locations and reasons for being challenged or banned.  You can find more about banned books and the reasons they have been banned at these sites:

http://www.forbiddenlibrary.com/

http://ala8.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/challengedbanned/challengedbanned.htm

http://www.ila.org/pdf/2008banned.pdf

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."   This is a basic intellectual freedom issue and The American Library Association states that it is your right to "seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction."