Fight Censorship. Read a Banned Book

September 21-28 is Banned Book Week.  The Library observed its commitment to freedom to read by displaying books that have been challenged in the last decade.

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. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.

Fifty Shades Freed (2012)	Popular Reading
Twilight (2010)	Popular Reading
Arming America (Top 00-09)	HV8059 .B395 2000
Animal Farm (Classics)	PR6029.R8 A63X
1984 (Classics)	PR6029.R8 N49 2002
Golden Compass (Top 00-09)	PR6066.U44 G6x 2006
Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone (Top 00-09)	PR6068.O93 H371x 1998
The Satanic Verses (Classics)	PR6068.U757 S27 1989
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Classics)	PS3515.U789 T5 2006
Invisible Man (Classics)	PS3555.L625 I5353 1999
Grendel (Top 00-09)	PS3557.A712 G7 1989
Snow Falling on Cedars (Top 00-09)	PS3557.U846 S65 1994
To Kill a Mockingbird (2010)	PS3562.E353 T6 1999
Beloved (2012)	PS3563.O8749 B4 1998
Things They Carried	PS3565.B75 T48 2011
Slaughterhouse-Five (Top 00-09)	PS3572.O5 S638 2011
The Kite Runner (2012)	PS3608.O832 K58 2004b
The Lovely Bones (Top 00-09)	PS3619.E26 L68 2002

According to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, there were 464 reported attempts to remove or restrict materials from schools and libraries in 2012 and more than 17,700 attempts since 1990, when the ALA began to record book challenges.