Banned Books Week 2012...

About Banned Books Week From The American Library Association:

Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event (Banned Books Week 2012 marks its 30th anniversary) celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society.

About Banned & Challenged Books From The American Library Association:

The ALA promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) promotes awareness of challenges to library materials and celebrates freedom of speech during Banned Books Week. This event is observed during the last week of September of each year. Banned Books Week 2012 will occur September 30 through October 6. See Banned Books Week for information and resources for getting your library or organization involved in this event! OIF compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted to us by librarians and teachers across the country. For more about books challenged over the last 30 years, as well as information about classic novels that have been challenged and/or banned, please see Frequently Challenged Books. OIF also offers support for librarians facing challenges to materials in their library. Please see Challenges to Library Materials for resources and information to help you prepare for and respond to challenges. If you would like more information about banned and challenged books not covered in the website, please feel free to contact the Office for Intellectual Freedom at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4220, or oif@ala.org.

Yearly Lists of Challenged and/or Banned Books:
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2010-2011 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2009-2010 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2008-2009 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2007-2008 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2006-2007 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2005-2006 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2004-2005 (PDF)

Library Articles: Banned Books Week Edition...

♥ School Districts Pull Books From Shelves
♥ Bye, Bye Ban: Mark Twain's 'Eve's Diary' Formally Restored to Library
♥ Top Ten Banned Or Challenged Books Of 2010
♥ Banned Books Week Celebrates Its 30th Year
♥ Ten Books About Censorship For Kids & Teens
♥ Alabama Prisoner Sues Over Book Censorship
♥ Banned Books Week Reminds Us That Censorship Is Alive and Well In The Internet Age

BBW 2011 Poster...

Banned Books Week 2011...

About Banned Books Week From The American Library Association:

Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society.

About Banned & Challenged Books From The American Library Association:

The ALA promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) promotes awareness of challenges to library materials and celebrates freedom of speech during Banned Books Week. This event is observed during the last week of September of each year. Banned Books Week 2011 will occur September 24 through October 1. See Banned Books Week for information and resources for getting your library or organization involved in this event! OIF compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted to us by librarians and teachers across the country. For more about books challenged over the last 20 years, as well as information about classic novels that have been challenged and/or banned, please see Frequently Challenged Books. OIF also offers support for librarians facing challenges to materials in their library. Please see Challenges to Library Materials for resources and information to help you prepare for and respond to challenges. If you would like more information about banned and challenged books not covered in the website, please feel free to contact the Office for Intellectual Freedom at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4220, or oif@ala.org.

Yearly Lists of Challenged and/or Banned Books:
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2010-2011 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2009-2010 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2008-2009 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2007-2008 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2006-2007 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2005-2006 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2004-2005 (PDF)

Library Articles: Banned Books Week Edition...

♥ 15 Iconic Movies Based On Banned Books
♥ 10 Books People Most Want Banned

Library Article: Banned Books Week Edition...

♥ Library Plans ‘Banned Book Bingo’ Monday

Yearly Lists Of Challenged And/Or Banned Books...

Here are links to the yearly lists that the American Library Association (ALA) puts out during Banned Books Week (BBW):

♥ Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2009-2010 (PDF)
♥ Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2008-2009 (PDF)
♥ Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2007-2008 (PDF)
♥ Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2006-2007 (PDF)
♥ Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2005-2006 (PDF)
♥ Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2004-2005 (PDF)

These brochures list books challenged, restricted, removed, or banned in that year as reported in the Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom.

Library Articles: Banned Books Week Edition...

♥ Celebrate the Freedom to Read Banned Books
♥ Banned Books Week: Banned and Challenged Manga of 2009-2010
♥ Banned Books Week 2010: Which Books Drew the Most Fire Last Year?
♥ Celebrate Banned Books Week at Wolfsonian with a Film About Smutty Literature
♥ In Missouri, Banned Books Week Starts Early
♥ Banned Books Week 2010
♥ Youth Author Talks About Censorship at Library Program

Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books from 2000-2009...

Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

1 Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2 Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3 The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
4 And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
5 Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
6 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
7 Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
8 His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
9 TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Myracle, Lauren
10 The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
11 Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
12 It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
13 Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
14 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
15 The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
16 Forever, by Judy Blume
17 The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
18 Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
19 Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
20 King and King, by Linda de Haan
21 To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
22 Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
23 The Giver, by Lois Lowry
24 In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
25 Killing Mr. Griffen, by Lois Duncan
26 Beloved, by Toni Morrison
27 My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier
28 Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
29 The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney
30 We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier
31 What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
32 Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
33 Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
34 The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
35 Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison
36 Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
37 It’s So Amazing, by Robie Harris
38 Arming America, by Michael Bellasiles
39 Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane
40 Life is Funny, by E.R. Frank
41 Whale Talk, by Chris Crutcher
42 The Fighting Ground, by Avi
43 Blubber, by Judy Blume
44 Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
45 Crazy Lady, by Jane Leslie Conly
46 Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
47 The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, by George Beard
48 Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez
49 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
50 The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
51 Daughters of Eve, by Lois Duncan
52 The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson
53 You Hear Me?, by Betsy Franco
54 The Facts Speak for Themselves, by Brock Cole
55 Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Green
56 When Dad Killed Mom, by Julius Lester
57 Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause
58 Fat Kid Rules the World, by K.L. Going
59 Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
60 Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
61 Draw Me A Star, by Eric Carle
62 The Stupids (series), by Harry Allard
63 The Terrorist, by Caroline B. Cooney
64 Mick Harte Was Here, by Barbara Park
65 The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien
66 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
67 A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
68 Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez
69 Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
70 Harris and Me, by Gary Paulsen
71 Junie B. Jones (series), by Barbara Park
72 Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
73 What’s Happening to My Body Book, by Lynda Madaras
74 The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
75 Anastasia (series), by Lois Lowry
76 A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
77 Crazy: A Novel, by Benjamin Lebert
78 The Joy of Gay Sex, by Dr. Charles Silverstein
79 The Upstairs Room, by Johanna Reiss
80 A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
81 Black Boy, by Richard Wright
82 Deal With It!, by Esther Drill
83 Detour for Emmy, by Marilyn Reynolds
84 So Far From the Bamboo Grove, by Yoko Watkins
85 Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher
86 Cut, by Patricia McCormick
87 Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume
88 The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
89 Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissenger
90 A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
91 Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Graighead George
92 The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar
93 Bumps in the Night, by Harry Allard
94 Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
95 Shade’s Children, by Garth Nix
96 Grendel, by John Gardner
97 The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende
98 I Saw Esau, by Iona Opte
99 Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
100 America: A Novel, by Frank, E.R.

Library Articles: Banned Books Week Edition...

♥ 10 Ways to Celebrate Banned Books Week
♥ Can Censoring a Children’s Book Remove Its Prejudices?
♥ 'Celebrate' Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week Poster...

September 25−October 2, 2010

Banned Books Week...

Banned Books Week (BBW) starts today and I thought I'd get the word out seeing as my library doesn't actually acknowledge it. Here is the information that the American Library Association (ALA) provides on their website about it:

September 25−October 2, 2010

Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society.

Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

For more information on getting involved with Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, please see Calendar of Events and Ideas and Resources. You can also contact the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4220, or bbw@ala.org.