Banned Books Week 2009 at the University of St Thomas Libraries

Celebrate your freedom to read September 27 - October 4

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE DAILY ONLINE TRIVIA CONTEST

“There is no such thing as a moral book or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all.”                                                       -Oscar Wilde

The UST libraries are joining hundreds of libraries, bookstores and publishers to commemorate the 27th anniversary of Banned Books Week, an annual celebration of our constitutionally protected right to access books and other media without censorship.

Famous trials over classic but controversial texts like Ulysses or Lady Chatterley's Lover lull people into the belief that attempts to restrict materials are a thing of the past when in fact many contemporary works such as books in the Harry Potter series, Fight Club and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings have been challenged in various communities.  The American Library Association recorded 518 challenges to books in 2008 and this map drawn from documented cases shows that challenges to books are not confined to specific regions. 

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. 

There will be messages, links and pictures all throughout the week on the UST Libraries Facebook page.  Become a fan!
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"Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance."                         -Lyndon Baines Johnson

"Don't join the book burners.  Don't think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they never existed."   -- Dwight D. Eisenhower