In 1982, the American Library Association (ALA) created Banned Books Week in response to a rise in challenges to books in libraries, schools and bookstores. Banned Books Week is sponsored by the ALA, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and the National Association of College Stores, and is endorsed by the Center for the Book of the Library of Congress. Held annually during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the harms of censorship while “celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment.” ALA Banned Books Week Site
In celebration of this year’s Banned Books Week, the CSL library is spotlighting historically banned or challenged books in a display case in the library. The display includes Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird, Nabokov’s Lolita, Walker’s The Color Purple, Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, and many more. For more information on the reasons behind the banning of certain titles, see the Banned or Challenged Classics page, here. We encourage students to drop by the display case during a study break or between classes.
According to the American Library Association, the 10 most challenged books of 2009 were:
1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
2. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
5. Twilight (series), by Stephanie Meyer
6. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
7. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
9. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
10. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
The American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) is featuring a series of blog posts on the creative ways libraries are celebrating Banned Books Week. Readers and librarians are also celebrating Banned Books Week on ALA island in Second Life, and on Twitter with the hashtag #BannedBooksWeek. The OIF has also created a YouTube video to depict the top 10 most frequently banned or challenged books in 2009.
Thank you for celebrating Banned Books Week! Read something you love!
- Lyn Batty -
