What do Harry Potter, To Kill a Mockingbird and Catch 22 all have in common?  They’ve all been banned or challenged at one time!

Each fall, libraries across the country recognize the importance of the freedom to read by focusing on Banned Books. Throughout the country events are held during Banned Books week and throughout the month of October, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. There are hundreds of challenges to books in schools and libraries in the United States every year. According to the American Library Association, there were at least 460 in 2009; the ALA estimates that 70-80 % are never reported.

Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted banning of books across the United States. Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. This year’s theme is “Think for Yourself and Let Others Do the Same.”

These challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities. People challenge books that they say are too sexual or too violent. They object to profanity and slang, and they protest against offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups–or positive portrayals of homosexuals. Their targets range from books that explore contemporary issues and controversies to classic and beloved works of American literature.

Even if well intentioned, censors try to limit the freedom of others to choose what they read, see, or hear. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned. All thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections.

Be sure to check out the Banned Books Week display in Collins Library, by library staff Willow Berntsen and Carmel Thompson, and attend the Banned Books Tea: October 14 , 3:00-4:30 p.m. in the library link.

More Information:
Great blog about Banned Books Week
Frequently Challenged Books
Banned and Challenged Classics
Amnesty International USA
National Coalition against censorship