Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association

The Office for Intellectual Freedom is charged with implementing ALA policies concerning the concept of intellectual freedom as embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association’s basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. The goal of the office is to educate librarians and the general public about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.

The week of September 29 through October 6, 2007, marks the 26th anniversary of Banned Books Week, ALA's annual celebration of the freedom to read.

The "10 Most Challenged Books of 2006" reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

"And Tango Makes Three" by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group;

"Gossip Girls" series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language;

"Alice" series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language;

"The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things" by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;

"The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;

"Scary Stories" series by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity;

"Athletic Shorts" by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language;

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;

"Beloved" by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group;

"The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.

Off the list this year, but on for several years past, are the "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger, "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.


The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
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What's the best way to celebrate Banned Books Week?

Read or re-read one (or more) of the banned books. Discuss the book with friends.

Read the First Amendment to the US Constitution. Discuss what that amendment means.

Call your local library. Thank a librarian. Ask what day of the week they could use a volunteer. Volunteer, at least once. Ask how the library raises funds. Volunteer to help if it is an annual event.

Encourage everyone you know to read a book, preferably one from the list. Don't just encourage children; adults need to read, too.

Find a good home for any of your unwanted books.

Visit an independent book store near you. Buy a book.
~~~~~~~~~~
I ask every person who reads this post to read or re-read one of the above mentioned books before Banned Books Week.
Tell us what you are going to read. When done, or even as you read the book, start a thread about that book. If one is already started, join in the discussion.

I am going to re-read "The Catcher in the Rye" (#13, above) and "On the Road", Jack Kerouac's Beat Bible. (It's the 50th anniversary of the publication of "On The Road". Both of those help to shape who I am today, and I will be forever grateful to Kerouac and Salinger.

"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them." ~ Ray Bradbury, "Fahrenheit 451" (another Banned Book)

For Our Resident Canadian Librarian

FREEDOM TO READ WEEK
February 24–March 1, 2008

Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Many of the books on the list deal with issues that, at the time they were written, were pretty controversial. Of course, most of them have become classics, but there are many that gain notoriety because they were once banned.
I don't agree with censorship of books in any way, but we have to consider the times in which some of these books were written.
"Lady Chatterley's Lover" is not on the list, but was the subject of an obscenity trial in the UK, when it was first published there in 1960.
It was originally privately printed in the late 1920s.
However, by today's standards, an affair between a working class man and an aristocratic married woman would not be considered risque.

Sometimes too, the issues that might offend are not so clear cut. The following example comes to mind:
Here in Ontario we have a children's book award called the Silver Birch Award. Every year, for this award, a list of books is released by the Ontario Library Association, and one book is selected as an overall winner.
Schools and libraries work in collaboration, to encourage children in grades 4-6 to read the selected books.
In 2006 "Three Wishes" by Deborah Ellis was chosen to be part of the Silver Birch reading Program.
Three Wishes is a non-fiction book of interviews of Israeli and Arabic children. At least one Ontario school board withdrew the book from it's classrooms, and pressure was put on the Ontario Library Association by the Canadian Jewish Congress to remove the book from the list altogether. Here's part of the controversy:

"Ellis visited Israel and Palestine in 2002 to interview children and retells their stories in their own words in Three Wishes. Among the children she interviewed are a young girl whose older sister was a suicide bomber and an 11-year-old boy who described his home being destroyed by soldiers.

Ellis is also author of The Breadwinner series, about a young Afghan girl who disguises herself as a boy to make enough money to feed her family during the rule of the Taliban.

In choosing the book for the Silver Birch program, the OLA described Three Wishes as allowing "young readers everywhere to see that the children caught in this conflict are just like them, but living far more difficult and dangerous lives. Without taking sides, it presents an unblinking portrait of children victimized by the endless struggle around them."

The CJC argues children aged 9 to 12 do not understand the complexities of the conflict in the Middle East and cannot understand what they are reading.

"There are adults who can't get their heads around this still," Rudner says.

He cites passages like this one from a Palestinian boy, whose home was destroyed by soldiers: "Killing an Israeli will make me feel glad. It will make me feel strong. … I am tired of them making me feel small and weak. I want to feel strong and proud."

In one passage a girl speaks of her sister, who blew herself and others up in a suicide bombing, as being in heaven. A teacher working with this text could encourage children to think about why people feel like that and provide some context, but a young child reading on his or her own might not understand, Rudner says."
CBC Arts

I am not implying that this book was banned, but had it been withdrawn, it would effectively have been unavailable to a majority of Ontario school children between the ages of 9 and 12.
Should it have been withdrawn? The answer is, I don't know. I can only say I wouldn't want my own child to read it, without my knowing about it, and her being able to discuss it with me.

So sometimes the issues aren't as clear as just coming down to censorship of inappropriate material. Will this book be controversial in 25 or 50 years? Our society will have changed, so maybe not.

DG, I like your idea of reading one book from this list, so I'll choose "The Slaughthouse-Five," which I have already started.
Thanks for an interesting post.

With Lady Chatterley's Lover although the subject may have been a contributing factor,surely the reason that it was so controversial was Lawrence's use of very explicit language and sexual descriptions, which even today still seem strong.
Viv

These were also factors for the book being objectionable to some at the time Viv, I agree with your point.
However, the language used is no more explicit than can be found in high school texts today. So, I'd have to say that I disagree that the language and sexual content is strong by the standards of what is being published in 2007.

Our children have access to reading material in schools and libraries that we would have found risque at their ages, and which our parents and grandparents would probably have found inappropriate.