What is Banned Books Week?

Since 1982, once a year, the American Library Association (ALA) brings awareness to the public, about the value of free and open access to information. The week is celebrated by libraries and the entire book community nation-wide.

This year Banned Books Week will be held September 25-October 1st, 2017. 

Banned Books Week highlights books that people have attempted to ban (some more successfully than others) from libraries or curriculum over the decades. Such books often later become known as important pieces of literature that define a time or generation of people. Many banned or challenged books are children’s stories that have caused an uproar for being unorthodox or unpopular for a variety of reasons. Examples of commonly banned books are: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Gone With the Wind and the Harry Potter series.

Why are books challenged or banned?

Challenged books are those that have been attempted to be removed or restricted from libraries or curriculum based on the objections of a person or group. Banned books is the actual removal of those materials from a library or curriculum. This removal restricts access and keeps others in the community from reading the books.

Reasons for challenging a book range from foul language, racism, sexual themes, use of magic, or anything else that a specific group of people might have found offensive at the time. Many books have been challenged but, not successfully banned, and even those that are successfully banned, have often been put back on the shelves because they were found to be relevant or challenges were proven groundless.

Who challenges or bans books?

People who challenge books usually have good intentions and want to protect others in their communities (often children and young people) from difficult ideas. Over the years, individuals and groups of all types have challenged books. According to the Challenges by Initiator, Institution, Type, and Year, parents challenge materials more often than any other group.

Who protects challenged books?

Librarians and the American Library Association (ALA) are dedicated to protecting everyone’s freedom to read. The ALA has adopted a Library Bill of Rights which proclaims their professional dedication to provide materials and information that encompass all points of view, that materials should not be removed because of “partisan or doctrinal disapproval”, and that “Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.”

Can I check out a “banned book” at SRSU library?

Yes! Check one out and consider the difficult ideas these books present, why they may be controversial to certain groups, and why it is important to keep the book in libraries and available to all who may want to read them. Below is a listing of this year’s top 10 challenged books that you may check out at the Bryan Wildenthal Memorial Library:

The Holy Bible By Various Published: Various Banned: Religious viewpoint.	Fun Home By E. L. James Published: 2007 Banned: For Violence and “graphic images”.	Habibi By Craig Thompson Published: 2011 Banned: For Nudity, sexually explicit.	Nasreen’s Secret School By Jeanette Winter Published: 2009 Banned: For Religious viewpoint, and violence.	Two Boys Kissing By David Levithan Published: 2013 Banned: For Homosexuality and “condones public displays of affection”.
Looking for Alaska By John Green Published: 2015 Banned: For Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.	Fifty Shades of Grey By E. L. James Published: 2012 Banned: For sexually explicit content, unsuited to age group.	I Am Jazz By Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings Published 2014 Banned: For homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint.	Beyond Magenta By Susan Kuklin Published: 2014 Banned: For Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political and religious viewpoint.	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time By Mark Haddon Published: 2003 Banned: For Offensive language, religious viewpoint, “profanity and atheism”.

Visit the American Library Association’s Banned Books site to find more information or call your local library to see if they are holding special Banned Books Week programs.