Banned Books Week

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.

Some excerpts from the 2010 list:

Ehrenreich, Barbara
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting
by in America
Holt
Challenged at the Easton, Penn. School District
(2010), but retained despite a parent’s claim the
book promotes “economic fallacies” and socialist
ideas, as well as advocating the use of illegal drugs
and belittling Christians. Source: May 2010, p. 107.

Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff
Merriam-Webster Collegiate
Dictionary
Merriam-Webster
Pulled from the Menifee, Calif. Union School District
(2010) because a parent complained when a child
came across the term “oral sex.” Offi cials said
the district is forming a committee to consider
a permanent classroom ban of the dictionary.
Source: Mar. 2010, p. 55.

Meyer, Stephenie H.
Twilight series
Little
Banned in Australia (2009) for primary school students
because the series is too racy. Librarians have stripped
the books from shelves in some junior schools because
they believe the content is too sexual and goes against
religious beliefs. They even have asked parents not to
let kids bring their own copies of Stephenie Meyer’s
smash hit novels — which explore the stormy love
affair between a teenage girl and a vampire — to
school. Source: Nov. 2009, pp. 207–8.

Check out the document for the complete banned book list and ways to stay informed, protect your right to read and challenge censorship.