Do You Exercise Your Freedom to Read?
(Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College)
By Lauren Bradford, Musselman Library
Have you read the ‘Harry Potter’ Series by J.K. Rowling or ‘The Hunger Games’ Trilogy?
What about ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak or ‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury?
These books and many others have been challenged and even banned in schools, libraries, and bookstores across the world by people who have objected to them.
But did you know that more than half of all challenged books contain diverse content? By banning these books, hundreds of stories are being silenced. What would we be missing if their voices were never heard?
To find out more about books that have been challenged or banned, visit the library’s two Banned Books Week displays this coming week from September 24 to the 28!
Browse through the cart on the main floor and exercise your right to read by checking out a book that has been banned or challenged across the country.
Make sure you try your hand at guessing which famous ‘banned book’ has snippets of its text sealed in a jar. All correct guesses will be entered into a drawing for a $25 bookstore gift card! Then head down to the ground floor for an interactive activity board to test out your ‘banned book’ knowledge and let us know which ‘banned book’ has impacted you most.
If you want to know more about fighting censorship and what books were challenged and banned this year, visit the American Library Association website or ask a librarian!
