Every year, libraries across the country observe Banned Book Week, bringing awareness to censorship efforts and celebrating your freedom to read books that have been a target of those efforts now and in the past.
The first Banned Books list was the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, a list of books and authors deemed heretical or immoral by the Catholic church, which its followers were forbidden to read without special permission. The index was officially abolished in 1966.
The first Banned Books list was the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, a list of books and authors deemed heretical or immoral by the Catholic church, which its followers were forbidden to read without special permission. The index was officially abolished in 1966.
When a person or group attempts to remove a book from a library, it is considered a challenge. If a challenge is successful, the book is banned from that library. Official challenges are rarely successful in getting books banned (though we sometimes use the terms interchangeably because a banning attempt WAS made), but efforts to remove materials deemed objectionable don't always follow official channels. In recent years, religious activists have hidden, defaced and destroyed "objectionable" books in public libraries.
Visit the American Library Association's page on Banned Books week for more information, free printables and ways to get involved.
