Banned Book Week ! Sept 25 - Oct 2 2010

For those of you who don't know, and for those that do as well, Septmember 25-October 2 is Banned Book Week. The week long event, according to the American Library Association, is an  "annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment."

Banned Book Week is meant to draw attention to the harms of censorship by focusing on actual banned books in the U.S. The ALA stresses the importance of intellectual freedom, or the freedom to access information and express your ideas. This emphasis is the basis for the week.

As I visited the ALA web site I found a shocking figure. According to the site, over the last nine years American libraries were faced with 4,312 challenges.

• 1,413 challenges due to “sexually explicit” material;
• 1,125 challenges due to “offensive language”;
• 897 challenges due to material deemed “unsuited to age group”;
• 514 challenges due to “violence”
• 344 challenges due to “homosexuality”; and

Another, "109 materials were challenged because they were “anti-family,” and an additional 269 were challenged because of their “religious viewpoints.”

The site explained that "1,502 of these challenges (approximately 34%) were in classrooms; 33% were in school libraries; 23% (or 1,032) took place in public libraries.  There were 100 challenges to college classes; and only 29 to academic libraries.  There are isolated cases of challenges to materials made available in or by prisons, special libraries, community groups, and student groups.  The majority of challenges were initiated by parents (almost exactly 48%), while patrons and administrators followed behind (10%).

When I read this, my jaw dropped. Most notably when I saw that 100 challenges have come from college classes. My thought was that college was the time to experience new literature and readings.


Nonetheless, in honor of this week, and because I think that this is really interesting, I am going to dedicate the blog to helping spread awareness.


 All information and statics can be found at the American Library Assoication - http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/index.cfm . In the meantime, feel free to visit for more inforamtion !