UTC Library is celebrating Banned Books Week from September 27 – October 3. Visit the Library to see a display of books that have been frequently challenged, pick up a Freedom To Read boomark or pin-on button. Or, celebrate by having a discussion with friends and colleagues about your favorite book and whether it’s ever been challenged or banned.
The following statement and list is taken from bannedbooksweek.org/about and gives some context to Banned Books Week. Also, the UTC Library holds 7 of the 10 most challenged titles from 2014 – and we’re happy to borrow a copy of the 3 we don’t own for you through our inter-library loan program. The UTC Library supports Intellectual Freedom and the Freedom to Read!
Banned Books Week is the national book community’s annual celebration of the freedom to read.
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Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982 according to the American Library Association. There were 311 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2014, and many more go unreported. The 10 most challenged titles of 2014 were (Ed. Note: with links on how to get them from the UTC Library added):
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
- Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
- And Tango Makes Three, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
- The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
- It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
- Saga, by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples
- The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
- A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard
- Drama, by Raina Telgemeier
For more information on Banned Books Week, click here.