Banned Books Week

Yes, in this day and age books are still being challenged and banned from library bookshelves. There are many reasons given for the books to be removed including sexual content, vulgar language, and violence and those challenging books come from a varied background. To find out more about books that are challenged, visit the American Library Association's website on Banned Books Week Basics. Some of these challenged books are considered classics, including The Grapes of Wrath, Catcher in the Rye, and Beloved, and Lolita. ALA has also listed some of the reasons these classics were challenged. Thankfully, most challenges do not result in the book being removed from the shelves.

Banned Books Week is being celebrated this year from Sept 27th -Oct4th. I hope that you will participate by reading a banned book. Here is a list of the top 100 banned books from 2000-2007. The Loudoun Campus Library has several of these books in our collection with a few of them on display in the entrance to the library. These titles include:

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
PS3537.A426 C3 2001

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
PS3562.E353 T6337 2007

The Chocolate War byRobert Cormier
PS3553.O653 C49x 2000

Beloved by Toni Morrison
PS3563.O8749 B4 1987