banned books week | Library Blog - Indiana University East

banned books week

Banned Books Week: An FAQ

banned books week, KT Lowe September 9, 2024 outreach mdilwort

From September 22 to September 28, the IU East Campus Library will be celebrating Banned Books Week, a recognition of the freedom to read. Since 1982, the America Library Association has maintained a list of the most banned or challenged books in the US. This blog compiles a list of commonly asked questions, providing responses and links to resources. What is a book ban? According to PEN America, a book ban can be defined as “any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials, that leads to a previously accessible book being either completely … Continued

Nonfiction graphic novels

banned books week, comics, graphic novels, KT Lowe December 11, 2023 books mdilwort

Graphic novels can be thought of as illustrated long-form stories, and can cover a variety of subjects. From tales of postmodern antiheroes to renditions of popular fiction, graphic novels have been both celebrated and derided. The IU East Campus Library has developed a collection of graphic novels for both research and reading enjoyment, including a strong selection of nonfiction offerings. Below is a description of just a few of the library’s titles. Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe More than a coming out story, Kobabe’s book is an odyssey of gender fluidity. Kobabe, who uses e/er/eir pronouns, uses eir life as a focal point for understanding gender and sexuality from bodily, emotional and relational perspectives. The loosely drawn, invitingly illustrated book is … Continued

Banning and Challenging Books

banned books week August 21, 2023 books mdilwort

“Your position is that under the Constitution, the advertising for this book or the sale for the book itself could be prohibited?” – Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy “If the book contained the functional equivalent of express advocacy.” – Deputy Solicitor General Malcom Stewart, attorney for the FEC – Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010) American libraries stand on the First Amendment, taking as a bedrock principle that citizens’ right to read whatever they want must not be abridged. The desire to censor or control what other people have access to is insidious; and can be found in people of every creed and ideology. To draw attention to this risk, for forty years the American Library … Continued

Join the Banned!

banned books week, KT Lowe July 10, 2023 books mdilwort

In 2022, a historic number of book challenges were made across the country, targeting school, community and university libraries. In Florida alone, where over 500 books have been banned or challenged since 2021, authors ranging from inaugural poet Amanda Gorman to contemporary novelist Kurt Vonnegut have been the subject of targeted removal from classrooms and libraries. Yet according to the Washington Post, most book challenges are made by only a handful of individuals, often bonding together via social media. That means a very small number of people have attempted to create an outsized impact on the reading material allowed to a significant portion of the country. Libraries maintain collections for the benefit of heir communities, and communities are comprised of … Continued

Censoring Books

banned books week September 26, 2022 books mdilwort

Libraries advocate for the freedom to access and read any book a reader might want. To bring attention to the insidious problem of censorship and encroachment on the First Amendment, libraries all over the country celebrate Banned Books Week. Launched by the American Library Association in 1982, the ALA tabulates reports of challenges to books held in library collections, as well as any times those challenges resulted in restricting access to a book or even, in some cases, of completely withdrawing it from a collection. The resulting list of the top ten most-challenged books is updated and publicized every year. Challenges against books typically occur in school or public libraries, and often target children’s books. Common titles that have suffered … Continued