Banned Books Week

September 24–October 1, 2011

If a book be false in its facts, disprove them; if false in its reasoning, refute it. But for God’s sake, let us freely hear both sides if we choose. --Thomas Jefferson, 3rd US president, architect, and author (1743-1826)

This year is the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read. Celebrate your freedom to read with a book from any of the lists posted on a website below:

• ALA (American Library Association) Banned Books Week - The leaders of Banned Books Week have numerous links of interest for further reading, including
  • Books Challenged and/or Banned in 2010-2011 (pdf)
  • Top 10 Challenged Books for 2010
  • Frequently Challenged Books of the 21st Century
  • Banned and/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century
• About.com's Banned Books - Censorship - Extensive list of sites.
• AS IF! Authors Support Intellectual Freedom - Blog that "champions those who stand against censorship, especially of books for and about teens." Written by a long list of young adult authors.
• Banned Books and Censorship - A Closer Look at Book Banning - From the Censorship Pages to "provide the resources needed to explore how, and why censorship happens not only in the United States, but all around the world."
• Banned Books Challenge - Join this blog project to read, review, and write about banned books. Many links included.
• Banned Books Week - Created by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, this site includes library and bookstore events celebrating the freedom to read and "a list of suggestions of other activities that will help remind people of the importance of free speech."
• Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out - Join the American Library Association in celebrating the freedom to read by joining in the Virtual Read-Out, where people across the world will read from their favorite banned or challenged books, and share the videos on YouTube.
• Censors & Children's Lit - A collection of blog entries from Jim Trelease (author of the Read-Aloud Handbook).
• Controversial and Banned Books - Online bookstore "for thought-provoking & paradigm-shifting books, videos and audio tapes." Includes lists of authors and titles that have been "banned by someone, somewhere, sometime," and a growing list of censors and book-banners in the U.S.
• Fahrenheit 451: Freedom to Read - Pelham Public Library's blog discussion on censorship. Includes lots of great links.
• Google Map of Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2011 - Click on a blue marker to see information on banned or challenged books in the U.S.
• National Coalition Against Censorship - An alliance of organizations "promoting freedom of thought, inquiry and expression and opposing censorship in all its forms."
• University of Pennsylvania's Banned Books Online - Links to the fulltext of some of the "books that have been the objects of censorship or censorship attempts."
• Why Were Books Banned? - A brief article from the Southern Illinois University School of Law on the legal history of book banning.
• Wikipedia's List of Books Banned by Governments - See what books other countries ban and why.
• For a fun video clip from the American Library Association, see I'd Like to Find *BLEEP*
• For a serious video clip of a current event, see Burning Books
• And read this excellent response from a librarian to a parent's challenge of Uncle Bobby's Wedding.

Also, look for the displays in the flat cases in the Library Lobby and by the reference desk and the north wall case by the 1st floor restrooms running September 20-October 10, and check out the collection of books that have been challenged or banned on the "New Books" shelf in the Library Lobby.