CELEBRATE YOUR FREEDOM TO READ!

BANNED BOOKS WEEK

SEPTEMBER 21st to 28th

Each year, during Banned Books Week, American libraries and librarians hope to remind American citizens of their Freedom to Read. Banned Books Week is a time to celebrate literature and to examine the roots of intolerance and ignorance that fuel efforts to censor the arts and free expression. Censorship is neither infrequent nor an issue of the past --- even today, books with clear artistic and cultural merit are still challenged by those who seem to feel they have the right to control what others read. Challenges are not restricted to any particular city, state, or nation, nor are they reserved strictly for books and magazines anymore --- with the advance of technology and the ease of internet access, numerous online services and other materials have also come under fire.

Most would-be book banners act with what they consider to be the highest motives -- protecting themselves, their families and communities from perceived evils, and preserving the values and ideals they would have the entire society embrace. The end result, however, is always (and ever will be) the denial of another's right to read. Banned Books Week draws attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society. The message goes beyond the freedom to choose and to express ones individual opinion; the message of Banned Books Week is the importance of ensuring the availability of ALL viewpoints, even those that are unorthodox or unpopular, to all those who wish to read them.

The books listed below are just a few from our collection that have, at one time or another, faced challenges, banns, and even burning. If you're interested in learning more, complete listings of the "100 Most Challenged Books of Our Time", will be posted at the Library and on the KPC Connection web-site.

"Objectionable"
American Heritage Dictionary. Dell; Houghton. Challenged (1993). Dictionary was removed due to "objectionable language."

"Negative "
Brave New World. Aldous Huxley; Harper. Challenged (1993) because it is "centered around negative activity."

"Profanity"
Native Son. Richard Wright; Harper. Challenged (1994)
but retained after a five-month dispute over "profanity and images of violence".

"Obscene"
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Challenged (1993).
A sixth-grade teacher objected to the book because it includes "obscene words".

"Vulgarity"
Catcher in the Rye. J.D. Salinger; Bantam, Little.
Challenged, but retained (I 994) Challenged because it is "centered around negative activity."

"Violent"
Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck; Bantam, Penguin, Viking. Challenged (1993) because of "profane language, moral statement, treatment of the retarded, and the violent ending."