September 13, 2006

Banned Books Week

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week. Scheduled for the week of September 23 through September 30, 2006, Banned Books Week is traditionally a time to reflect on books that have been challenged and/or banned from public, school, and academic libraries. Each year books by Judy Blume, J.K. Rowling, Dav Pilkey, J.D. Salinger, and Robert Cormier, to name a few, top the American Library Association's list of challenged books.

Below are a few resources available in AU Library regarding banned books, challenged books, and censorship. Unless otherwise noted, all of the titles are part of the regular circulating collection:

Banned Book resources from the American Library Association:

An interesting offering from Google, in conjunction with the American Library Association, is a Book Search titled Celebrate Your Freedom to Read:

"Google Book Search is our effort to expand the universe of books you can discover, and this year we're joining libraries and bookstores across the country to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week – a nationwide initiative to help people learn about and explore banned books. You can start by browsing these 42 classics – books we couldn't be more pleased to highlight." - Google Book Search, 9/13/06

Among the 42 titles listed are The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Lord of the Flies, Brave New World, The Color Purple, Gone with the Wind, and A Separate Peace. Google links users to information about finding these books in a library or book store. Links within this post go to the AU catalog.


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