Celebrate Your Freedom to Read!
Every year hundreds of books are threatened with removal from schools and libraries across the country. Since 1990, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom has recorded more than 11,000 book challenges, including 460 in 2009.
Even though most of these challenges are made with the best of intentions (protecting people or children from difficult ideas), banning books prevents the freedom to choose and express opinions. Challenged books range from Mother Goose stories and the Harry Potter series to classics like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
The ALA’s annual Banned Books Week is going on this Sept. 25 – Oct. 2. Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. Since its inception in 1982, Banned Books Week has served as a reminder that while not every book is intended for every reader, each of us has the right to decide for ourselves what to read, listen to or view.
So let’s get active!
- Read a book on the list of banned and challenged classics
- Check out the statistics of challenged books
- Bannedbooksweek.org has a great map of challenges in the US
- You can also visit your local library and find out if they are holding any special events or activities to raise awareness about banned and challenged books.
Lulu is a strong supporter of literacy, with projects like “Lulu For Literacy,” and we believe that everyone has the right to publish. Last year, in support of Banned Books Week, Lulu published five books in the public domain with a special cover, which illustrates that the work was once banned. Take a look at these great books today.