Today is the start of Banned Books Week, an annual event organized by the American Library Association to draw attention to challenges made to libraries in an effort to remove titles from library shelves. Stop in and see our display of some of the titles that have been challenged over the past few years.
According to the ALA, the most challenged and/or restricted reading materials have been books for children and teens. Challenges are not simply an expression of a point of view; they are also an attempt to remove materials from public use, thereby restricting the access of others. Even if the motivation to ban or challenge a book is well intentioned, the outcome is detrimental. Censorship denies individuals the freedom to choose and think for themselves. For children, decisions about what books to read should be made by the people who know them best—their parents!
The list of books banned or challenged in 2009-2010 contains some that appear on this list every year, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, along with some new to the list this year, including Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich and The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad. See entire list here.